BOOKS
ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLES
Dr. Hinduja and Dr. Patchin have recently published in Youth and Society, Archives of Suicide Research, Journal of School Violence, Deviant Behavior, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice. If you are interested in any of the following, please email us and specifically request them.
Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (forthcoming). Traditional and nontraditional bullying among youth: A test of general strain theory. Forthcoming in Youth and Society.
Bullying at school is a common problem facing youth, school officials, and parents. A significant body of research has detailed the serious consequences associated with bullying victimization. Recently, however, a new permutation of bullying has arisen and arguably become even more problematic. Cyberbullying, as it has been termed, occurs when youth use technology as a tool or instrument to bully their peers - via email, in chat rooms, on social networking Web sites, and with text messaging through their computer or cell phone. The current study seeks to shed light on the potential causes of both variants of adolescent aggression by employing the arguments of Agnew’s (1992) General Strain Theory. Results suggest that those who experience strain are more likely to participate in both traditional and nontraditional forms of bullying. Implications of these findings and suggestions for further research in this growing area of study are also discussed.
Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (forthcoming). Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Forthcoming in Archives of Suicide Research.
Empirical studies and some high-profile anecdotal cases have demonstrated a link between suicidal ideation and experiences with bullying victimization or offending. The current study examines the extent to which a nontraditional form of peer aggression – cyberbullying – is also related to suicidal ideation among adolescents. Among a random sample of approximately 2,000 middle-schoolers, youth who experienced traditional bullying or cyberbullying, as either an offender or a victim, had more suicidal thoughts and were more likely to attempt suicide than those who had not experienced such forms of peer aggression. Also, victimization was more strongly related to suicidal thoughts and behaviors than offending. The findings provide further evidence that adolescent peer aggression must be taken seriously both at school and at home, and suggest that a suicide prevention and intervention component is essential within comprehensive bullying response programs implemented in schools.
As increasing numbers of youth embrace computer-mediated communication to meet academic and social needs, interpersonal violence directly and indirectly related to the Internet is occurring more often. Cyberbullying in particular has shot to the forefront of agendas in schools and communities due to the emotional, psychological, and even physical harm to which victims can be subjected. While previous studies have focused on describing its frequency in an exploratory capacity, the current work seeks to utilize general strain theory to identify the emotional and behavioral effects of cyberbullying victimization. Data collected online from a sample of adolescent Internet-users indicate that cyberbullying is a potent form of strain that may be related to involvement in school problems and delinquent behavior offline. Implications of these findings and suggestions for policy are discussed.
Victimization on the Internet through what has been termed cyberbullying has attracted increased attention from scholars and practitioners. Defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text” (Patchin & Hinduja, 2006), this negative experience not only undermines a youth’s freedom to use and explore valuable online resources, but also can result in severe functional and physical ramifications. Research involving the specific phenomenon - as well as Internet harassment in general - is still in its infancy, and the current work seeks to serve as a foundational piece in understanding its substance and salience. Online survey data from 1,378 adolescent Internet-users are analyzed for the purposes of identifying characteristics of typical cyberbullying victims and offenders. While gender and race did not significantly differentiate respondent victimization or offending, computer proficiency and time spent online were positively related to both cyberbullying victimization and offending. Additionally, cyberbullying experiences were also linked to respondents who reported school problems (including traditional bullying), assaultive behavior, and substance use. Implications for addressing this novel form of youthful deviance are discussed.
- Reprinted in Korken, K. (ed.). (2008). Contemporary Readings in Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications (Pine Forge Press).
Bullying in a school setting is an important social concern that has received increased scholarly attention in recent years. Specifically, its causes and effects have been under investigation by a number of researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. A new permutation of bullying, however, has recently arisen and become common: tech-savvy students are turning to cyberspace to harass their peers. Whereas youth who are bullied at school can extricate themselves from unpleasant situations when they go home for the day, a child is potentially vulnerable to mistreatement through electronic means around the clock. Furthermore, the negative psychological, emotional, and social consequences can leave scars that persist for years, if not for a lifetime. This exploratory paper will discuss the nature of bullying and its transmutation to the electronic world, as well as the negative repercussions that can befall both its victims and instigators. Additionally, findings are reported from a pilot study designed to empirically assess the nature and extent of online bullying. The overall goal of the current work is to illuminate this novel form of deviance stemming from the intersection of communications and computers, and to provide a foundational backdrop upon which future empirical research can be conducted.
BOOK CHAPTERS
If you are interested in any of the following, please email us and specifically request them.
Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2010). Cyberbullying: Offenders and Victims. In Thio, A., Calhoun, T. C., & Conyers, A. (Eds.), Readings in Deviant Behavior, 6th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Growing public awareness of electronic bullying and harassment among adolescents suggests the need to empirically investigate this increasingly common and problematic behavior. Although studies of cyberbullying and online harassment among young people are nascent, preliminary findings suggest that victimization can undermine the freedom of youth to use and explore valuable online resources, and may have negative emotional and physical consequences as well. The current study presents both quantitative and qualitative data from an online survey of approximately 3,000 Internet-using adolescent girls to learn more about their experiences as victims of cyberbullying and online harassment. Though the results are exploratory and largely descriptive, this study helps broaden our understanding of the victimization experiences of adolescent girls in cyberspace.
RESEARCH SUMMARIES
The following documents outline some of the findings from a previous empirical study conducted in the Spring of 2005 of approximately 1,500 Internet-using adolescents.
Cyberbullying Victimization Among an Adolescent Population - Executive Summary (.pdf)
Cyberbullying Offending Among an Adolescent Population - Executive Summary (.pdf)