Cyberbullying: Research, effects and resilience

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Cyberbullying Research, effects and resilience
Donna Cross Child Health Promotion Research
Centre Edith Cowan University
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What does bullying in your school(s)...

• Look like?
• Feel like?
• Sound like?

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Magnitude in Australia

• Of 1.9m children 814 years
• 950,000 (50) bullied at least once last term
• 400,000 (20) bullied every few weeks or more
  often
• 95,000 (5) bullied others at least once last
  term

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• 200,000 (10) children bullied every/most days
• 100,000 (50 of 200,000) were bullied during
  recess and lunchtime today.

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Where bullied?

• 19 - in classroom
• 51 - recess / lunch
• 7.5 - way to school
• 16 - way home from school
• 10-20 Online?

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Social architecture of bullying

• Bullying is usually a strategy to gain status and
  power in the peer group...
• and it is often successful
• students who bully are perceived as popular
  (Caravita, DiBlasio, Salmivalli, 2008)
• bullying helps to maintain status (Juvonen
  Galvan, 2008)
• and to increase status over time (Cillessen
  Borch, 2004)

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Social architecture of bullying (cont)

• By bullying a small number of submissive,
  insecure, physically weak and in a low-power,
  rejected position in the group...
• ... the students bullying can repeatedly
  demonstrate their power renewing their
  high-status position without being confronted

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The behaviour of bystanders does matter...

• Defended victims are much better adjusted than
  the undefended ones (Sainio, Veenstra, Huitsing,
  Salmivalli, 2008)
• Reconciliation occurred when bystanders
  intervened and less when teacher intervened.
  (Fujisawa et al, 2005)

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Multiple (synergistic?) harms from bullying

• Higher incidence of mental health problems
  (Craig, 1998 Kaltiala-Heino, et al 1999 Slee,
  1995a, 1995b)
• Suicidal ideation (Rigby Slee, 1999)
• More interpersonal difficulties (Kumpulainen et
  al., 1998b)

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Multiple (synergistic?) harms from bullying

• More loneliness (Forero, McLellan, Rissel,
  Baum, 1999 Kochenderfer Ladd, 1996a, 1996b)
  and
• Lower general self worth (Grills Ollendick,
  2002 M. O'Moore Kirkham, 2001 Salmivalli,
  1999)
• Higher levels of absenteeism from, be unhappy at
  and dislike school (Forero et al., 1999 Rigby,
  1997 Zubrick et al., 1997).

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Bully/bullied students harms

• Bully/bullied students are
• More disliked and therefore more socially
  ostracized and lonely (Forero et al., 1999
  Juvonen, Graham, Schuster, 2003 Schwartz,
  2000).
• Least engaged in school (Juvonen et al., 2003)
• Have the poorest psychosocial functioning (Austin
  Joseph, 1996 Juvonen et al., 2003)

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Bully/bulliedstudents harms (cont)

• have the lowest self esteem (Andreou, 2000a M.
  O'Moore Kirkham, 2001)
• experience the highest levels of depression and
  other mental health problems (Juvonen et al.,
  2003 Kaltiala-Heino, et al, 1999 Kumpulainen,
  et al, 1999) as well as conduct problems (Austin
  Joseph, 1996 Juvonen et al., 2003
  Kumpulainen, Rasanen, Puura, 2001)
• this group of students may be at greatest risk
  of future psychiatric problems. (Kumpulainen
  Rasanden, 2000)

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Coexistence of bullying behaviours

• 83 of students who bully others online, also
  bully others offline.
• 84 of students who were bullied online were also
  bullied offline.
• (Cross, et al 2008)

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Child Health Promotion Research
Centre Bullying-Related Research
1999
Formative Study Principles For Success
2000
Friendly Schools
2001
Friendly Schools
2002
Friendly Schools Friendly Families
2003
Friendly Schools Friendly Families
2004
Friendly Schools Families Program Release
- Supportive Schools Project - Obesity Bullying
2005

• Supportive Schools Project - Solid Kids, Solid
  Schools
• Childhood Aggression Prevention Project (CAP) -
  Obesity Bullying

2006
- Supportive Schools Project - Solid Kids, Solid
Schools - Childhood Aggression Prevention (CAP)
Project - Obesity Bullying
2007/2008
- Cyber Technology, Relational Aggression and
Teenage Health National Covert
Bullying Study - PEET Cyber project
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Whole School Intervention
Friendly Schools Families Whole-School Pack
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Cyber Bullying

• The email of the species is deadlier than the
  mail
• (Stephen Fry)

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Relationship to traditional bullying

• The internet does not cause bullying, it mirrors
  and magnifies it.
• It makes the bullying visible to adults using a
  medium that confounds adults
• Its about student behaviour not technology

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cYber Generation

• Our children are the masters in cyber space and
  therein lies the challenge

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Teen speak
CG (chuckle and Grin) DIKU (do I know you) DWB
(dont write back) EOM (end of message) FOMCL
(falling off my chair laughing)G (grin) GGP
(gotta go pee) GOL (giggling out loud) HT (hi
there) IHU (I hear you) IRL (in real life) L8R
(later) LTM (laugh to myself) LY (luv ya) MUSM
(miss you so much) NFG (no f good) NP (no
problem) PAW (parents are watching) PM (private
message) S (Sup) SU (shut up) SWAK (sealed
with a kiss) TCOY (take care of yourself) TMI
(too much information) UAPITA (you're a pain in
the ass) WFM (works for me) LOL laugh out loud
YW (your welcome)
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Whats your risk online?

• Do you
• Visit untrusted websites?
• Back-up data?
• Use security software?
• Select unsafe passwords?
• Take action to avoid being hacked?
• Run virus scans?

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Whats your risk online?

• Do you
• Visit untrusted websites? 46 do
• Back-up data? 55 dont
• Use security software? 22 use none
• Select unsafe passwords? 45 do
• Run virus scans? 21 dont
• (Symantec, n6,400 March 2009)
• 27 of respondents indicated their computer had
  been hacked

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Three types of risks online

• Content risks accidental or deliberate
• Pro-ana/mia websites
• Pro-suicide websites
• Hate group websites
• Contact risks strangers and bullying
• Sexual solicitation
• Privacy risks invasion of privacy, ID theft

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What's important to you in your digital world?

• Playing Games
• Keeping in touch with friends
• Homework
• Browsing the web
• Downloading music
• Creating own content

multiple response
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What is cyber bullying?
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Definition of cyber bullying

• Cyberbullying is when an individual
• or group use the internet, mobile phones or other
  technology to intentionally hurt another person
  or group of people.

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What are young people doing?

• Flaming heated exchange
• Harassing and threatening messages eg text
  wars, griefers
• Denigration - sending nasty SMS, pictures or
  prank phone calls Slam books (websites or
  negative lists)
• Impersonation - Using persons screen name or
  password eg message to hate group w/ personal
  details
• Outing or trickery sharing private personal
  information, messages, pictures with others
• Posting set up images/video e.g. happy
  slapping
• Ostracism - Intentionally excluding others from
  an online group eg knocked off buddy lists

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Cyber bullying of teachers

• Teachers may also become the targets of cyber
  bullying, e.g. ratemyteachers.com
• Rated / 5 on easiness, helpfulness, popularity
  and clarity.
• Make comments about teaching and personal
  characteristics.
• Teachers' names added to Wall of Shame or Wall of
  Fame.

"Bad, boring and useless" "He made me sit
outside in freezing weather...u should fire
him!!!!!" and "He puts other students down".
"Children once used to graffiti or write on desks
or books about teachers, now they throw it on the
internet for the whole world to see,"
Owen 2006
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Predictors Students who cyber bully others

• Access to mobile phone
• No internet use rules at home
• Wireless internet access at home
• Bully others face to face
• Cyber and face to face bullied
• Male, secondary student
• Favourable attitudes to cyber bullying
• Below average academic achievement
• More lonely and less connected to school
• Less supportive school

(Cross et al, 2008)
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What is it about cyber bullying that concerns
young people?

• Not knowing who is doing the bullying
• Public humiliation
• Being bullied 24/7
• No-one available to help
• Parents finding out
• Nastiness of bullying online

multiple response
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What is it about cyber bullying that concerns
young people?
multiple response
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What aspect of cyber bullying concerns young
people the most?

• Not knowing who is doing the bullying
• Public humiliation
• Being bullied 24/7
• No-one available to help
• Parents finding out
• Nastiness of bullying online

one choice only
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What aspect of cyber bullying concerns young
people the most?
one choice only
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Differences between cyber and offline bullying

• 24/7 access
• Broadcast, even repeatedly
• Anonymous
• No authority
• Not telling punitive fears
• Nastiness /disinhibition
• (Toxic cocktail?)

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Taking action
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Who has the greatest responsibility to reduce
cyber bullying among young people?

• Government
• Schools
• Parents/families
• Young people
• Corporations
• Everyone

one choice only
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Who has the greatest responsibility to reduce
cyber bullying among young people?
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What role can you play in helping your community
with technology and cyber issues?

• Show adults how you use technology
• Assist your teachers in using technology for
  school work
• Lead workshops for adults
• Work with younger children in a mentor role
• Develop content for school newsletter website
• Participate in development of policies and
  guidelines

multiple response
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What role can you play in helping your community
with technology and cyber issues?
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Cyber bullying and governance risk

• How far does a schools duty of care and
  standard of care extend regarding cyber bullying?
  
• What if two students cyber bully each other
• At school? yes
• To and from school?... may be
• At home using granted remote access, on schools
  hosted server? may be
• And merely attend the same school?... Probably
  not
• (Campbell et al, 2008)

Criminal and civil law are still playing catch
upAs yet untested case of liability for cyber
bullying.
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What do schools need to do to reduce their cyber
bullying risk?

• Educational, ethical and legally defensible
  policies
• (some schools have not updated their
  anti-bullying policies to include cyber bullying
  must address foreseeable risks)
• Practical, well publicised, enforceable and
  enforced policies.

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A good policy includes

• Inclusive definition of what constitutes bullying
• A description of expected behaviour
• Consequences for a breach of stated standards
• Procedures for reporting
• Provisions to protect reporters
• Ways to increase reporting
• Processes for investigating complaints
• Robust implementation strategies and procedures
• (Campbell et al, 2008)
• Schools should seek independent legal advice on
  litigation liability

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Good practice

• Strong leadership
• - Clarity among school community about the
  schools stance on this issue
• Survey nature/needs
• Assess level/type, age groups etc of cyber
  bullying at home and at school e.g. focus groups,
  class meetings, surveys
• Focus on transitions
• - Similar policies, for example

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Good practice

• Curriculum social skill development and
  activities about cyber bullying, e.g.
• - school policy information
• - legal issues and reporting
• - negative influences on online behaviour
• safe use of ICT including internet
• privacy and protection
• - preventative action, bystander education

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Good practice

• School climate where students feel comfortable
  reporting cyber bullying
• Collaborate with other schools to provide
  consistent cyber bullying prevention information
• Restorative techniques strategies
• - Use methods that raise empathy and consider
  consequences for actions eg using Method of
  Shared Concern, need to face person

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Six parent actions

• Learn together
• Monitor (quality and quantity)
• Filter (younger children)
• Educate (eg 50 dont know how to report abuse)
• Listen (80 wont tell parents)
• Involve children in decision making

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Useful websites

• Wiredsafety http//www.wiredsafety.org
• Cyber safety net http//cybersafetynet.com/index.h
  tml
• NetAlert http//www.netalert.gov.au
• Cybersmart kids http//www.cybersmartkids.com.au
• Safekids http//www.safekids.com
• Netsafe http//www.netsafe.com.nz
• Isafe http//www.isafe.org