Researchers Investigate "Cyberbullying"

Newswise — Dr. Sameer Hinduja, assistant professor in the department of criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University, along with Dr. Justin W. Patchin, assistant professor of criminal justice in the department of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, have been conducting a study on cyberbullying, which they define as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text." Examples of cyberbullying include sending threatening e-mails or instant messages, posting derogatory comments about someone on a website, sending harassing text messages via cellular phone, and physically threatening or intimidating someone through electronic text.

Results from their 2005 study indicate that more than one-third of 1,388 youths studied had been victimized by cyberbullying. Among that group, the most frequent types of cyberbullying victimization included being ignored (43.2%) and disrespected (39.8%). Of most concern, however, is that almost 13 percent of respondents reported feeling threatened, while five percent of the test group was scared for their own safety, due to some type of cyberbullying.

"Very little is known about the causes and consequences of cyberbullying, but it seems reasonable to assume that many of the outcomes associated with traditional bullying are related to cyberbullying," said Hinduja. "These can include, low self-esteem, depression, chronic illness, anger, frustration, school problems, familial problems and suicidal ideation. We are working to empirically measure these relationships in our current research projects."

Hinduja and Patchin's work is featured in the latest issue of Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, and more comprehensive analyses are forthcoming in several manuscripts that are currently under academic peer review. Additionally, the researchers are working with local school boards to replicate the study and ascertain the relationship of cyberbullying to issues such as offline bullying, offline delinquency, self-esteem and empathy.