Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jul 25;20(15):6442. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20156442.
Cyberbullying has emerged as a societal issue, and the majority of the research examining cyberbullying perpetration samples adolescent and/or emerging adult populations. A paucity of empirical attention has focused on young children (aged 8-10) regarding their cyberbullying frequency and predictors. The current study sampled 142 US youth aged 8-10 years and assessed their cyberbullying perpetration rate and cellular phone ownership. Results indicated that (a) older participants were more likely to cyberbully than their younger peers; (b) higher rates of cyberbullying were found for youth who already owned a cellular phone; and (c) an interaction between participant age and cellular phone ownership was found, suggesting that cyberbullying was highest for only the 10-year-old group who owned a cellular phone. These findings have implications for (a) parents, school administrators, health care providers, and anyone else interested in better understanding the predictors of cyberbullying perpetration; (b) intervention specialists focused on reducing cyberbullying in youth; and (c) a researcher interested in understanding the basic theoretical underpinnings of cyberbullying. Based on these findings, we recommend that (a) cyberbullying interventions be administered to youth as early as elementary school; (b) parents/guardians carefully consider the positive and negative consequences of youth cellular phone usage; and (c) increased communication between youth and parents/guardians concerning youth cellular phone activities.
网络欺凌已经成为一个社会问题，大多数研究网络欺凌行为的样本都是青少年和/或刚成年的人群。对于 8-10 岁的儿童，关于他们的网络欺凌频率和预测因素的实证研究很少。本研究对 142 名美国 8-10 岁的青少年进行了抽样调查，评估了他们的网络欺凌行为发生率和手机拥有率。结果表明：(a) 年龄较大的参与者比年龄较小的参与者更有可能进行网络欺凌；(b) 已经拥有手机的青少年网络欺凌发生率更高；(c) 参与者年龄和手机拥有之间存在交互作用，这表明只有拥有手机的 10 岁组的网络欺凌发生率最高。这些发现对（a）父母、学校管理人员、医疗保健提供者以及任何其他有兴趣更好地了解网络欺凌行为预测因素的人；(b) 专注于减少青少年网络欺凌的干预专家；(c) 对理解网络欺凌的基本理论基础感兴趣的研究人员。基于这些发现，我们建议：(a) 尽早在小学阶段向青少年提供网络欺凌干预措施；(b) 家长/监护人仔细考虑青少年使用手机的积极和消极后果；(c) 增加青少年与家长/监护人之间关于青少年手机活动的沟通。
