Abstract
Research suggests that cyberbullying continues during emerging adulthood, but is less often studied than with adolescent populations. We investigated the prevalence of cyberbullying behaviors amongst 312 New Zealand University psychology students using the Cyberbullying Experiences Survey. Most respondents reported experiencing (94.9%) and perpetrating (82.0%) some form of cyberbullying victimization in the past year, with men reporting higher rates than women. Men were also more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. However, the criteria for having experienced cyberbullying of at least once in the last year may have been too lenient. The average scale score for victimization and perpetration suggested a fairly low prevalence of cyberbullying among our sample. Our findings supporting the reliability of the Cyberbullying Experiences Survey were consistent with previous research using similar methods.We suggest avenues for future research to explore the nature of cyberbullying among emerging adults.
Highlights
With continued advances in technology, traditional bullying can occur through social media and mobile devices anywhere, at any time, reaching social networks quickly, and leaving evidence that can be nearly impossible to erase
94.9% (100% of men and 93.1% of women) reported that they had experienced some form of cyberbullying in the past year
82.0% (86.1% of men and 80.7% of women) reported that they had perpetrated some form of cyberbullying in the past year
Summary
With continued advances in technology, traditional bullying can occur through social media and mobile devices anywhere, at any time, reaching social networks quickly, and leaving evidence that can be nearly impossible to erase. University students are amongst the most frequent and technically advanced users of the internet and mobile devices globally [3]. A modest body of research suggests that cyberbullying continues, or even increases, through adolescence [4], with one third of students reporting that they experienced cyberbullying for the first time while at college [5]. Estimates of the percentage of university students who have been victims of cyberbullying range from low (10 to 15% [9,10]), to medium (24 to 62% [6,11,12,13,14]), to as high as 92% [15]. The prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration is reportedly lower (e.g. 2% [14], 8% [6,12,14], 23% [11], and 40% [13])
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callMore From: International Journal of Psychology & Behavior Analysis
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
