Cyberbullying: another main type of bullying?

Full Abstract

Cyberbullying has recently emerged as a new form of bullying and harassment. 360 adolescents (12-20 years), were surveyed to examine the nature and extent of cyberbullying in Swedish schools. Four categories of cyberbullying (by text message, email, phone call and picture/video clip) were examined in relation to age and gender, perceived impact, telling others, and perception of adults becoming aware of such bullying. There was a significant incidence of cyberbullying in lower secondary schools, less in sixth-form colleges. Gender differences were few. The impact of cyberbullying was perceived as highly negative for picture/video clip bullying. Cybervictims most often chose to either tell their friends or no one at all about the cyberbullying, so adults may not be aware of cyberbullying, and (apart from picture/video clip bullying) this is how it was perceived by pupils. Findings are discussed in relation to similarities and differences between cyberbullying and the more traditional forms of bullying.

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Author information

Author/s: Slonje, Robert (R); Smith, Peter K (PK);

Affiliation: Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. r.slonje(-atsign-)gold.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Scandinavian journal of psychology (Scand J Psychol), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Apr; vol 49 (issue 2) : pp 147-54

Dates: Created 2008/03/20; Completed 2008/07/01;

PMID: 18352984, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Adolescent Psychology - methods; statistics & numerical data
Adult
Age Distribution
Aggression - psychology
Cellular Phone - statistics & numerical data
Child
Crime Victims - psychology; statistics & numerical data
Dominance-Subordination
Electronic Mail
Female
Humans

Internet - statistics & numerical data
Male
Peer Group
Perception
Prevalence
Questionnaires
Self Disclosure
Sex Distribution
Social Behavior
Social Support
Students - psychology
Sweden - epidemiology
Videotape Recording

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