Abstract
Cyberbullying is an international issue for schools, young people and their families. Whilst many research domains have explored this phenomenon, and bullying more generally, the majority of reported studies appear in the psychological and educational literatures, where bullying, and more recently, cyberbullying has been examined primarily at the individual level: amongst adolescents and young people, with a focus on the definition, its prevalence, behaviours, and impact. There also is growing evidence that younger children are increasingly accessing technology and engaging with social media, yet there is limited research dedicated to this younger age group. The purpose of this paper is to report on a systematic literature review from the psychological and educational research domains related to this younger age group, to inform future research across the disciplines. Younger children require different methods of engagement. This review highlights the methodological challenges associated with this age group present in the psychological literature, and argues for a greater use of sociological, child-centred approaches to data collection. This review examined studies published in English, between 2009 and 2014, and conducted with children aged 5–12 years, about their experiences with cyberbullying. Searches were conducted on seven key databases using keywords associated with cyberbullying and age of children. A Google Scholar search also examined published and unpublished reports. A total of 966 articles and reports were retrieved. A random peer review process was employed to establish inter-rater reliability and veracity of the review. Findings revealed 38 studies reported specifically on children aged 5–12 years. The dominant focus of these articles was on prevalence of cyberbullying, established through survey methodology. Few studies noted impacts, understanding and behaviours or engaged children’s independent voice. This review highlights current gaps in our knowledge about younger children’s experiences with this form of bullying, and the importance of employing cross-disciplinary and developmentally appropriate methodologies to inform future research.
Highlights
Since the advent of readily available, technology-enhanced communications and the ubiquitous diffusion of technology throughout mainstream society, young people have readily embraced a range of devices, platforms and online programs
To obtain an accurate picture of young children’s understanding of cyberbullying, this review argues that research methods that align with their developmental levels are necessary
The research field of cyberbullying is relatively young [56] yet there has been an exponential explosion in research published recently [88], with groups who heavily engage with social media receiving the greatest research attention: namely adolescents and young adults
Summary
Since the advent of readily available, technology-enhanced communications and the ubiquitous diffusion of technology throughout mainstream society, young people have readily embraced a range of devices, platforms and online programs. Research reporting on children’s annual online experiences across Europe, between 2007 and 2010, has found that up to 94 per cent of children aged 6–17 years old access the internet [1] and that six per cent of children aged 8–11 years engaged with social networking. Social networking potentially exposes young people to online harassment and cyberbullying which is “arguably the most prevalent online risk faced by children” [1] It is evident that younger children’s ownership and access to these technologies is increasing, and as such, they are exposed to the benefits and risks associated with their use: which until recently, had been reserved for older users [2,3,4]. Whilst benefits can include broader avenues of communication and new opportunities for learning, one potential risk for children is that of exposure to, and experience of, cyberbullying. The OECD research [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
