Comparing children and adolescents engaged in cyberbullying to matched peers

Although characteristics of traditional bullying participants have been identified and studied for years, research on cyberbullying is limited. The purpose of this study is to expand the literature on cyberbullying with a particular focus on the relationships among cyberbullying characteristics, typical social activities, and more traditional forms of bullying. The typical activities and experiences with traditional bullying and cyberbullying of 52 children ages 11 to 17 were compared to those of 52 matched controls. Children exposed to cyberbullying, whether as a cyberbully, cybervictim, or both (bully/victim), spent more time on computer-based social activities. Nearly two thirds of cyberbully/victims were also traditional bully/victims. While preliminary, results suggest that efforts to prevent cyberbullying may need to focus on patterns of Internet use, amount and type of social activities, and exposure to traditional bullying as risk factors for engaging in cyberbullying.