Cyberbullying:

The International Experience Oslo,6th April 2016

Professor Mona O’Moore National Anti-Bullying Research & Resource Centre (ABC)

Dublin City University

PlanofTalk:FromanInterna1onalPerspec1ve

1.Defini1onofbullying:tradi&onal,cyberandsex&ng

2.SomeResearchfindings:prevalence,age,gender,familyaffluence,migrant

communi&es

3.Impactofcyber-bullying

4.BystanderRolesinCyberbullying

5.StudentOpinionsofCyberbullying

6.Mo1ves,PersonalityandSelf-Esteem

7.Preven1onandInterven1on:StrengthsandWeaknesses

8.Conclusions&Recommenda1ons

What is Bullying?

Traditional Bullying Cyber-

Bullying

Traditional Bullying Definition

Bullying has 3 main criteria:

§ intention to cause harm to the victim;

§ repetition of the abusive behaviour over a period of time;

§ imbalance of power between the victim and bully/bullies.

However, one particularly severe once off incident, which creates an ongoing sense of intimidation can also be considered bullying.

O’Moore,M.(2010).UnderstandingSchoolBullying:AGuidetoParentsandTeachers(VeritasPublishing)

Systematic victmisation §  Physical aggression

§  Verbal abuse

§  Gestures – often threatening

§  Exclusion / Relational

§  Extortion

Traditional Bullying most often takes the form of…

Cyber-Bullying : A definition

“Cyber-bullying is an aggressive intentional act carried out by a group or an individual,

using electronic forms of contact repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot

easily defend him or herself” PeterSmithet.al.2008

DefiningCyberbullying:Istherecommongroundamongresearchers?

Strongagreementrela1ngto:Ø  theinten1onalityØ  theimbalanceofpowerMorecontroversial:Ø  repe11on

Needtodis1nguishbetween:Ø  cyberaggressionandcyberbullying

MonaO’Moore,UnderstandingCyberbullying:AGuideforParentsandTeachers2014

Cyber-BullyingTac1cs•  Harassment: e.g. sending insulting or threatening messages; •  Denigration: spreading rumours on the internet; •  Outing and trickery: revealing personal information about a person

which was shared in confidence; •  Exclusion: preventing a person from taking part in online social

activities, such as games or chats. •  Flaming or Trolling: sending insulting messages to inflame emotions of

others so that flame war is created in ‘public’ places such as a chat room or a social networking site.

•  Impersonation: Perpetrator uses the victim’s password to send or post a hateful message / Perpetrator alters the victim’s profile

•  Happy Slapping: Filming and forwarding direct physical assaults which are degrading and humiliating to the victim.

•  Sexting: Embarrasses victim by posting messages or images of a sexual nature of victims or others e.g. the posting of victim’s breasts caused suicide of Amanda in Canada.

MonaO’Moore,UnderstandingCyberbullying:AGuideforParentsandTeachers,2014

MethodsofCyberbullying

Girls%

Boys%

Total%

Text-Messages(Inschool)

4.1 5.1 5.8

Text-Messages(Outofschool)

10.3 10.6 10.4

Internetpos1ngs(e.g.Bebo,YouTube,MySpace,Facebook&Nimble)

5.5 6.4 6.1

CameraorVideoclips(taken) 12.2 17.2 15.8

CameraorVideoclips(sent) 4.8 8.4 7.1

TelephoneCalls 8.6 11.8 10.2

Emails 3.3 3.4 3.1

On-LineChatRooms 8.6 8.2 8.4

InstantMessages 7.8 9.2 8.5

Percentage of girls and boys reporting different forms of cyber-bullying. O’Moore & Minton 2011

Differences between Cyber & Traditional Bullying

•  Cyber-bullyingprimarilyindirectratherthanfacetofaceandmaybeanonymous.

•  Cyber-bullyinghasthepoten1altoreachlargeaudiences.

•  Ithasthepoten1altostayincyber-spaceindefinitely.•  Theaggressordoesnotseethevic1msfacial/emo1onal

reac1oninthefirstinstance.•  Theaaributesthatmakeforimbalanceofpowerdiffer.•  Cyberbullyingallowsperpetratorstoreachtheirvic1ms

anywhereontheplanet.Nosafehaven.

Prevalence:Cyber-BullyingStudies,2004-2009

Study CybervicFms Cyberbullies Cyberbully-vicFm

O’Moore&Minton(2009)(Ireland)

9.8 4.4 4.1

Ybarra&Mitchell(2004)(U.S.A.)

4.0 12.0 3.0

Li(2005)(Canada) 24.9 14.5 54.0

Kowalski&Limber(2007)(U.S.A.)

11.1 4.1 6.8

Hinduja&Patchia(2009)(U.S.A.)

10.0 8.0 5.0

Reua1,Berone&Zaneh(2009)(Italy)

7.0 6.0 6.0

Wang,Iannoh&Nansel(2009)(U.S.A.)

5.3 3.8 4.5

Factorsthatmakecross-culturalcomparisonsdifficult

•  Defini1onsofcyber-bullying.Wasthereone?Ifsowhatcriteria?

•  Methodology:Themeasurementsused,e.g.self-reports(online,offline);teacherorpeerreports.

•  Differentrepor1ngperiods(lowerprevalencewhensurveyedmostrecently)

•  Age(lowerprevalenceamongtheyounger&olderstudents)

•  TypologyofBullyingwhenrepor1ngresults.

•  Sub-categoriesofcyber-bullyingsurveyed.

Source: EU Kids Online report Livingstone,S.Haddon,L.,Gorzig,A.&Olafson,K.(2011).RisksandsafetyforchildrenontheInternet:theIrelandreport,London,LSE.Cyber-vic1msTrad-vic1ms Europe 6% 13% Norway 8% 31% Ireland 4% 23% Russia 20% 20% Australia 13% 16%

Data about bullying, All forms & internet

Overlap between Traditional and Cyber-Bullying (O’Moore, 2012)

•  71 % of cyber-victims were traditional victims

•  28.9% of cyber-victims were traditional bullies

•  67.4% of cyber-bullies were traditional bullies

•  32.0% of cyber-bullies were traditional victims

SupportsSouranderetal(2010)studyof2215Finnishteensaged13-16years

WHOStudyof11-15yearoldsin42countries(2014)

v AgeEffect:Significantforonlyaminorityofcountrieswithlevelshigherforboysat11yearsandpeakingforgirlsat13years.

v GenderDifferences:Seeninlessthanhalfofthecountrieswithnoclearpaaernemerging.Someshowedboysbeingcyber-bulliedmoreandsomegirls.

v FamilyInfluence:Differenceswereevidentinveryfewcountriesandregionsinwhichcyberbullyingwasassociatedwithloweraffluence.

Effects of Bullying §  Erosion of confidence and self-esteem

§  Feelings of frustration

§  Anger

§  Sadness, hopelessness

§  Loneliness and depression

§  Inability to concentrate at school/work

§ Not wanting to go to school/work

§  Staying offline

§  Distrustful of others

§  Self-harm 56% LGBTI (14-18yrs)

§  Suicidal thoughts 70% LGBTI (14-18yrs)

§  Suicide Note: Being cyber & traditionally bullied increases risk of depression and loneliness.

(Gradinger et al, 2009; Bright et al, 2012)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Itmademefeelanotherway

Itdidn'tbotherme

Frightened

Angry

Upset

Girls

Boys

HowIrishCyberVic1msFeelWhenTargeted(N=564)O’Moore,2012

RiskFactors:Mo1ves,PersonalityandSelf-Esteem

Cyber-Vic1ms:Mostatriskarethosewho:•  Havepoorpeerrela1onships•  Havebothemo1onalandbehaviouraldifficul1es•  Spendmore1meonlineunsupervised•  BullyothersfacetofaceCyberBullies:Mostatriskarethosewho:•  Areimpulsive•  Holdproaggressiveorprobullyingahtudes•  Havelowlevelsofempathy(bothaffec1veandcogni1ve)•  Poormoralresponsibility(moraldisengagement)•  Seekpopularityamongpeersthroughaggression•  Arebulliedfacetoface

CyberBully-Vic1ms:Mostatriskarethosewho:•  Sharethepsychiatricandpsychosocialriskfactorsofcyberbulliesand

vic1ms

M.O’Moore(2014).UnderstandingCyberbullying:AguideforParentsandTeachers,VeritasPublishing.

Mo1vesforBullyingOthersinCyberspace

Gradinger,StrohmeierandSpiel,2012

•  Power:ToshowthatIammorepowerful•  Affilia1on:Tobeacceptedbymyfriends•  Fun:Becauseitwasfun•  Anger:BecauseIwasangryParryApab,2011•  Thevengefulangel•  Thepower-hungry•  Themeangirls•  Theinadvertentbully(or‘becauseIcan’)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Extraversion Psycho1cism Neuro1cism LieScale

MeanScore

JuniorEysenckPersonalityQuesFonnaireRevised

PureVic1ms

PureBullies

Bully-Vic1ms

NotInvolved

FactorsthatInfluenceCyberbullying

•  PeerandFamilyRela1onships•  Theclassandschoolclimate•  Student’sfeelingoftrustinteachersandstaff•  MediaRepor1ng

ReportcommissionedbytheDepartmentofEduca1onandSkills,Ireland,ontheimpactofcyberbullying(H.Gleeson,2014)

Participant Roles in Bullying DistribuFonin%

Perpetrators8%

Assistants7%

Reinforcers20%

Vic1ms12%

Defenders17%

Outsiders24%

Others12%

Salmivalli et al. (1996) were

able to identify clear roles

within the process of bullying

for 88% of the school

children surveyed.

The results were replicated in

a study in German

comprehensive schools

(Schäfer & Korn, 2004).

Fellow pupils have an important role in the process of bullying. Therefore, it is sensible to begin an intervention at the class level.

PercentageofIrishclassmateswhohavebeenwitnesstoCyber-Bullying

Knowledgeofthosevic1mised:Girls=39.0%Boys=29.9%Total=33.1%

Knowledgeofthosewhobullyothers:Girls=29.4%Boys=27.7%Total=28.4%M.O’Moore,2012

HowIrishstudentsrespondwhentheyarewitnesstocyber-bullyingacts(O’Moore,2012)

Girls%

Boys%

Total%

Ijoinedinthecyber-bullying 0.5 1.5 1.0

Ihadfunwatchingit 1.9 4.5 3.2

ItupsetmebutIdidnothingtostopit

7.4 5.4 6.4

Itriedtostopit 6.3 4.6 5.5

Itriedtosupportthevic1m 8.5 4.8 6.7

Itoldanadult(teacherorparent)

1.7 0.8 1.3

Ididsomethingelse 4.1 5.8 4.9

HowIrishvic1msrespondedtoCyber-Bullying(N=664)

Girls%

Boys%

Total%

Ihavetoldoneormorefriends 50.2 20.2 35.2

Ihavetoldanadultatschool 8.0 5.2 6.6

Ihavetoldmyparents 26.7 10.9 18.8

Iwasafraidtotell 7.0 6.1 6.6

Ihavenottoldanybody 7.0 10.1 8.6

Isentanangryresponseback 31.4 29.4 30.4

Iaskedthepersontostop 20.9 11.6 16.3

Ididnotrespond 15.8 11.6 13.7

Ididsomethingelse 17.5 25.5 21.5

Coping strategies (Riebel et al., 2009; Hoff & Mitchell, 2008)

•  Socialcoping:seekinghelpfromfriends,family,teachers,peer

supporters;•  Aggressivecoping:retalia1on,physicalaaacks;verbalthreats;•  Helplesscoping:hopelessness;passivereac1ons,suchas

avoidance;displaysofemo1on;•  CogniFvecoping:respondingasser1vely,usingreason;analyzing

thebullyingepisodeandthebully’sbehaviour.

•  Technicalcoping:switchingoffthecomputer,changingemailaddressornicknameandonlygivingthemtopeoplethatcanbetrusted,andshowingthemessagestoagrown-up.’

COSTAcFon:DataCollecFonin30Countries

–  Austria–  Australia–  Belgium–  Bulgaria–  CzechRepublic–  Denmark–  Estonia–  Finland–  France–  Germany–  Greece–  Hungary–  Iceland–  Ireland–  Israel–  Italy

• Latvia• Lithuania• Luxemburg• Netherlands• Norway• Poland• Portugal• Slovenia• Spain• Sweden• Switzerland• Turkey• Ukraine• UnitedKingdom

StrengthsThemajorityofguidelinesrecognisedtheneed:•  Forschoolstotakeawholeschoolcommunity

approach•  Forteacherstotreatallreportsofcyber-bullying

seriously•  Foryoungpeopletodevelopcyber-safetyskills•  Foryoungpeopletoexerciseprinciplesofne1queae•  Foryoungpeopletodevelopeffec1vecopingstrategies•  Foryoungpeopletoreportincidentsofcyber-bullying•  Toclosethedigitaldividebetweenyoungpeople,

parentsandteachers•  Forparentsandyoungpeopletoseekfurtheronline

informa1onandresources

CurrentWeaknessesRequiringAcFon

Futureguidelinesneedtoencourage

•  Schoolstoimplementmorefullyawholeschoolcommunityapproacho  Collaboratemorefullywithparentso  Improveyoungpeople’sknowledgeaboutcyber-safetyandcopingstrategieso  Developposi1vemeasures/restora1veapproacheso  Developcoopera1vegroupworko  Documentproceduresandoutcomesandevaluatetheireffec1venesso  Establishlinksandcallonexternalprofessionalagencies

•  Teacherstotakegreaterresponsibilityandembraceprofessionaltrainingo  Groupdynamicso  Conflictresolu1onskillso  Technologicalskills

CurrentWeaknessesRequiringAcFon

Futureguidelinesneedtoencourage

•  Youngpeopletotakealeadershiproletodiscouragecyber-bullyingo  Report/intervenewhenwitnesstocyber-bullyingo  Seekadviceandguidancefromexternalagencies/specialists

•  Parentstotalkaboutcyber-bullyingtotheirchildreno  Challengebystanderapathyo  Findabalancebetweensupervising/monitoringonlineac1vityand

developingtrustandself-disciplineo  Seektoenhancetheirowndigitalskills

“Schoolsares1llstrugglingtoproducegoodpolicies”(Smithetal.2012).Essen1alrequirements:1.Provideadequatefunding,training,templates.2.Promoteaccountabilitybyexamining:•  Studentsandparentsahtudestobullying•  Levelofabsenteeism•  Drop-outrates•  Recordkeepingofbullyingincidentsand•  Outcomesofinterven1ons.Rewardeffec1vepolicyandprac1ce

OvercomingProblemsofCompliancetotheWholeSchoolCommunityApproach

Cyberbullying:OutsideofSchoolTodealwithanyconfusion,aschoolshould,initscodeofbehaviouroran1-bullyingpolicy,makeitclearwhenitwillintervene,intermsofdiscipliningbehaviourbystudentsoutsidetheschool,outsideofschoolhours;andthatitbeconsistentinenforcingsuchdiscipline.

Clarityandconsistencyfundamentalforschoolsinthisarea.MurraySmith.(2013).SchoolBullyingandsomeLaw.InO’Moore,M.&Stevens,P.(Eds.)BullyinginIrish

Educa1on,CorkUniversityPress.MurraySmith(2014)Somelawoncyberbullying:InO’Moore,M.UnderstandingCyberbullying,Dublin,Veritas

Conclusions•  Cyber-bullyingisaworldwideproblem•  Imposesmentalandphysicalillhealth•  Underminesanddilutesthequalityofeduca1on•  Preven1onandInterven1onneedstobesystemicandcollabora1ve•  Poli1calAc1onneededatlocal,na1onal,interna1onallevel

FrameworkforPreven1onandInterven1ontoIncludeØ  MandatoryWholeSchoolCommunityApproachØ  TrainingofProfessionals----Teachers&HealthCareØ  MediaCampaignØ  Na1onalAdvisoryCentre/Commissionerfore-SafetyØ  DataCollec1onandResearchØ  LegalReform

SuccesswilldependonstrengthofpoliFcalwill

GoRaibhMileMaithAgat

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