Analyzing Cyberbullying Among Preteens Within a Canadian Context

Cyberbullying is a health problem for adolescents, and research has shown that adolescents who experience cyberbullying may suffer from mental and emotional health problems such as depression and anxiety [1]. As younger and younger children are given access to the internet, it is important to explain and the prevalence and impact of cyberbullying on pre-adolescents. The purpose of the current study is to analyze the behaviours that comprise cyberbullying as well as to examine age and gender differences in cyberbullying. A sample of 482 students (241 boys, 232 girls) was recruited for this study. Participants were students aged 11 to 14 years of old (mean age=12.7), in Vancouver, British Columbia. Prior to data collection, parental consent and student assent forms were distributed to students in 10 schools in Vancouver, British Columbia. Participants were asked to complete the questionnaire during a regular class period, using iPad minis. As part of the larger study, a 12-item cyberbullying measurement was used. This work used different methods including correlation, principal analysis, and ANOVA. The results showed there are two key components of cyberbullying, but the effect of these components are different.  The results identified two components, which accounted for 48.2% of the total variance with adequate reliability, alphas ranging from .613 to .839. The results also indicated that older adolescents are more likely to be engaged in cyberbullying, however, there was no significant gender difference among adolescents in Western Canadian context.