Ethnic-based cyberbullying: The role of adolescents’ and their peers’ attitudes towards immigrants

Abstract

The rate of migration has increased in Turkey in recent years. The school setting is the most important area for socialization and acculturation for immigrant adolescents. It is also the place where they might be exposed to negative attitudes and behaviors from their peers. Immigrant adolescents are at risk of experiencing ethnic-based cyberbullying; however, the research on its causes was limited despite the growing numbers of immigrant adolescents. We examined (a) the predictive role of adolescents' and their peers' attitudes toward immigrant adolescents’ ethnic-based cyberbullying behaviors and (b) whether the immigrant background of the cyber victim affects adolescents' reasoning about cyberbullying toward immigrants. To address the research questions, we used a mixed-method design. The sample included 139 participants (X̄age=13.16, SD=0.94) who attended two different secondary schools in Ankara. We found that both adolescents' and their peers' negative attitudes predicted ethnic-based cyberbullying. However, a positive attitude toward immigrants was not found to be related to ethnic-based cyberbullying. Qualitative analysis results regarding ethnic discrimination were interpreted within the framework of behavioral privacy. The present study highlighted that immigrant students are more likely to be cyber victimized in the presence of a negative attitude toward immigrants at the class level.