Cyberbullying, self-esteem, empathy and loneliness

Cyberbullying is a unique phenomenon, distinguished from traditional bullying by the speed at which information is distributed, permanence of material and availability of victims. There is however a paucity of research in this area, and few studies have examined the factors contributing to cyberbullying behaviour. The present study investigated the influence of self-esteem, empathy and loneliness on cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration. British adolescents (N = 90) aged 16–18 years were recruited from Further Education colleges. Participants completed the Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory (RCBI, Topcu & Erdur-Baker, 2010), the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Ferguson, 1978), Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ, Spreng, McKinnon, Mar, & Levine, 2009) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) online. Standard multiple regressions revealed that together, loneliness, empathy and self-esteem predicted levels of cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration. Self-esteem was a significant individual predictor of cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration, such that those with low self-esteem were most likely to report experience of cyberbullying. Empathy was a significant individual predictor of cyberbullying perpetration, such that as empathy decreases, likelihood of cyberbullying perpetration increases. These findings indicate that self-esteem and empathy oriented interventions may successfully address cyberbullying behaviour.

"The present study identified substantial levels of cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation. Prevalence was higher than reported in previous studies (Slonje & Smith, 2008), highlighting the importance of investigating the incidence of cyberbullying in each population type. The cyberbullying acts most frequently experienced by victims were being insulted in online forums, comments being made fun of in online forums, and private internet conversations being shared without their knowledge. The acts most frequently reported by perpetrators were making fun of comments in online forums, sharing private internet conversations without the other’s knowledge, and insulting others in online forums. Thus interventions may prioritise these behaviours. Together, loneliness, empathy and self-esteem predicted incidence of both cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration. Self-esteem was a significant individual predictor of cyberbullying victimisation, such that those with low levels of self-esteem were most likely to report victimisation. Self-esteem and empathy were significant individual predictors of cyberbullying perpetration. Adolescents with low levels of self-esteem and empathy were most likely to engage in cyberbullying." (Brewer and Kerslake, 2015: 258).