Cyber bullying and victimization among US adolescents

Purposes: To examine the prevalence of cyber bullying and victimization inside and outside school among US adolescents in grades 7 through 10 and identify risk and protective factors. Methods: A nationally representative sample of students in grades 7 to 10 (N = 8875) completed eight items assessing cyber bullying and victimization inside and outside of school as part of the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children 2009/10 survey. Risk and protective factors included socio-demographic characteristics (gender, grade, race/ethnicity, family affluence), social influence (parental support, maternal knowledge, paternal knowledge and age disparity of friends), and technology use (computer use and telecommunication with friends). Bivariate and multivariate associations were examined between involvement in cyber bullying and victimization and the risk and protective factors. Results: Prevalence of cyber bullying was 7.73% and of cyber victims was 11.25%. The majority of cyber bullying and victimization occurred both inside and outside of school. Girls and 7th graders were more likely to be cyber victims. For both cyber bullying and victimization, less maternal knowledge of a child's activities, being younger than most of their friends, and spending more time using computers and telecommunicating with friends were risk factors. Paternal knowledge and parental support were negatively related to cyber bullying and cyber victimization, respectively. Conclusion and implication: Use of technology and parental involvement are risk and protective factors for cyber bullying and victimization that could be useful for guiding cyber bullying prevention and intervention programs.