| Cyberbullying is a type of relational aggression, which seeks to harm others' relationships and social standing using electronic means. The internet allows for anonymous interactions and removes inhibitions that would otherwise prevent individuals from harming others. This study investigated the frequency of cyberbullying among high school students, as well as their capacity for empathy and the presence of cognitive distortions that may allow them to perpetuate online aggression. Participants were categorized into three groups: Victims, Bully/Victims, and Neither. It was expected those who engaged in any bullying behavior would demonstrate higher levels of justifications, have more acceptable attitudes toward cyberbullying, receive more reinforcement for cyberbullying, and have lower levels of empathy, as compared to those who do not engage in bullying behaviors. Bully/Victims and Victims had higher levels of justifications than the Neither group. Bully/Victims had more positive attitudes toward cyberbullying than the other groups, and received more reinforcement for their bullying than the Neither group. There were no significant differences in levels of empathy between groups. Post-hoc exploratory analyses were also performed to determine the impact of year in school on perceptions of cyberbullying and empathy, and to examine relationships between subscale scores. |
