Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization among adolescents in Hong Kong

Cyberbullying is a growing concern worldwide. Using a sample of 1917 secondary adolescents from seven schools, five psychometric measures (self-efficacy, empathy level, feelings regarding a harmonious school, sense of belonging to the school, and psychosocial wellbeing) and five scales regarding bullying experiences (cyber- and traditional bullying perpetration and victimization; reactions to cyberbullying victimization) were administered to explore the prevalence of cyberbullying in Hong Kong. Findings indicated that male adolescents were more likely than female adolescents to cyberbully others and to be cyber-victimized. Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization were found to be negatively associated with the adolescents' psychosocial health and sense of belonging to school. Cyber- and traditional bullying were positively correlated. Multivariate analyses indicated that being male, having a low sense of belonging to school, involvement in traditional bullying perpetration, and experiencing cyber-victimization were associated with an increased propensity to cyberbully others.

[1]  W. Chui,et al.  Psychological correlates of violent and non-violent Hong Kong juvenile probationers. , 2012, Behavioral sciences & the law.

[2]  Michele L. Ybarra,et al.  Youth engaging in online harassment: associations with caregiver-child relationships, Internet use, and personal characteristics. , 2004, Journal of adolescence.

[3]  Qing Li,et al.  New bottle but old wine: A research of cyberbullying in schools , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[4]  Phillip T. Slee,et al.  Peer victimization and its relationship to depression among Australian primary school students , 1995 .

[5]  M. Boulton,et al.  Bully/victim problems among middle school children. , 1992, The British journal of educational psychology.

[6]  M. Borg,et al.  The extent and nature of bullying among primary and secondary schoolchildren , 1999 .

[7]  S. Shariff.  Cyber-dilemmas in the new millennium: School obligations to provide student safety in a virtual school environment , 2005 .

[8]  G. Bazemore,et al.  Juvenile justice reform and restorative justice : building theory and policy from practice , 2011 .

[9]  Brian H. Spitzberg,et al.  Cyberstalking and the technologies of interpersonal terrorism , 2002, New Media Soc..

[10]  Justin W. Patchin,et al.  Bullies Move Beyond the Schoolyard , 2006 .

[11]  W. Chui,et al.  Criminal Recidivism of Incarcerated Male Nonviolent Offenders in Hong Kong , 2015, International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology.

[12]  Peter K. Smith,et al.  Cyberbullying: its nature and impact in secondary school pupils. , 2008, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[13]  W. Chui,et al.  Criminal Recidivism Among Hong Kong Male Juvenile Probationers , 2012 .

[14]  N. Willard.  Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress , 2007 .

[15]  J. Wolak,et al.  Does online harassment constitute bullying? An exploration of online harassment by known peers and online-only contacts. , 2007, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[16]  D. Streiner,et al.  Health Measurement Scales: A practical guide to thier development and use , 1989 .

[17]  Terry D. Diamanduros,et al.  The role of school psychologists in the assessment, prevention, and intervention of cyberbullying , 2008 .

[18]  Heidi Vandebosch,et al.  Cyberbullying among youngsters: profiles of bullies and victims , 2009, New Media Soc..

[19]  D. Olweus,et al.  Bullying at school : what we know and what we can do / Dan Olweus , 1993 .

[20]  King-wa Fu,et al.  Internet addiction: prevalence, discriminant validity and correlates among adolescents in Hong Kong , 2010, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[21]  Qing Li.  Cyberbullying in Schools , 2006 .

[22]  W. Chui,et al.  Social bonds and male juvenile delinquency while on probation: An exploratory test in Hong Kong , 2011 .

[23]  Louis Leung,et al.  Net-Generation Attributes and Seductive Properties of the Internet as Predictors of Online Activities and Internet Addiction , 2004, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[24]  Michele L. Ybarra,et al.  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45:7 (2004), pp 1308–1316 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00328.x Online aggressor/targets, aggressors, and targets: a comparison of associated youth characteristics , 2022 .

[25]  Laimutė Kardelienė,et al.  Associations between school bullying and psychosocial factors. , 2008 .

[26]  D. Olweus.  Aggression in the schools : bullies and whipping boys , 1978 .

[27]  Dennis S. W. Wong,et al.  School Bullying Among Hong Kong Chinese Primary Schoolchildren , 2008 .

[28]  Christopher H. K. Cheng,et al.  Program Effectiveness of a Restorative Whole-School Approach for Tackling School Bullying in Hong Kong , 2011, International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology.

[29]  M. Dollard,et al.  Peer and teacher bullying/victimization of South Australian secondary school students: prevalence and psychosocial profiles. , 2006, The British journal of educational psychology.

[30]  B. Peshkin,et al.  Interest in genetic counseling and testing for adolescent nicotine addiction susceptibility among a sample of adolescent medicine providers attending a scientific conference on adolescent health. , 2007, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[31]  Elisheva F. Gross,et al.  Extending the school grounds?--Bullying experiences in cyberspace. , 2008, The Journal of school health.

[32]  Heng Choon Oliver Chan,et al.  Association between self-control and school bullying behaviors among Macanese adolescents. , 2013, Child abuse & neglect.

[33]  W. Chui,et al.  The Gendered Analysis of Self-Control on Theft and Violent Delinquency , 2016 .

[34]  Peter K. Smith,et al.  Cyberbullying: another main type of bullying? , 2008, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[35]  H. Kong,et al.  Diversion From Youth Courts in Five Asia Pacific Jurisdictions , 2006, International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology.

[36]  V. Tang,et al.  Internet Addiction in Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong: Assessment, Profiles, and Psychosocial Correlates , 2008, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[37]  D. Farrington,et al.  Examining the relationship between low empathy and bullying , 2006 .

[38]  W. Chui,et al.  Social Bonds and School Bullying: A Study of Macanese Male Adolescents on Bullying Perpetration and Peer Victimization , 2013 .

[39]  C. Arora.  Is There Any Point in Trying to Reduce Bullying in Secondary Schools?: A Two Year Follow‐up of a Whole‐School Anti‐Bullying Policy in One School , 1994 .

[40]  D. Farrington.  Understanding and Preventing Bullying , 1993, Crime and Justice.

[41]  Robin M. Kowalski,et al.  Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age , 2007 .

[42]  Tolga Aricak,et al.  Cyberbullying among Turkish Adolescents , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[43]  Juliana Raskauskas,et al.  Involvement in traditional and electronic bullying among adolescents. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

[44]  D. Olweus.  Bullying at school: basic facts and effects of a school based intervention program. , 1994, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[45]  V. Braithwaite,et al.  Researching the Prospects for Restorative Justice Practice in Schools: The Life at School Survey 1996-9 , 2003 .

[46]  Peter K. Smith,et al.  Bullying in Schools: How Successful Can Interventions Be? , 2004 .

[47]  S. Baron-Cohen,et al.  The Empathy Quotient: An Investigation of Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and Normal Sex Differences , 2004, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[48]  D. Goh,et al.  Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: The Role of Affective and Cognitive Empathy, and Gender , 2010, Child psychiatry and human development.

[49]  T. Williams.  The quality of school life , 1981 .

[50]  D. Farrington,et al.  Bullies and delinquents: personal characteristics and parental styles , 2000 .

[51]  W. Chui,et al.  An Empirical Investigation of Social Bonds and Juvenile Delinquency in Hong Kong , 2012 .

[52]  L. Cronbach.  Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests , 1951 .

[53]  Michele L. Ybarra,et al.  Examining the overlap in internet harassment and school bullying: implications for school intervention. , 2007, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[54]  W. Chui,et al.  Self-control and the fear of death among adolescents in Hong Kong , 2013 .

[55]  Justin W. Patchin,et al.  Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying , 2008 .

[56]  D. Watkins,et al.  Age and gender invariance of self‐concept factor structure: An investigation of a newly developed Chinese self‐concept instrument , 2000 .