The Role of Parental Mediation and Peer Norms on the Likelihood of Cyberbullying
Keywords
cyberbullying
cyber-victims
parental mediation
peer norms
Publication details
| Year: | 2016 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/00221325.2016.1195330 |
| Issued: | 2016 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 178 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page: | 15 |
| End Page: | 27 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Sasson H.; Mesch G. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | The Journal of Genetic Psychology |
| Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
| Sample: | A total of 495 youngsters 10–18 years old (girls = 229, boys = 266) were included in the analyses (M age = 13.83 years, SD = 1.86 years). The sample was designed to contain a similar number of students from each grade level. the sample was representative of the student population attending the schools in a large city in the central part of Israel. |
| Implications For Parents About: | Parental practices / parental mediation |
Abstract
Cyberbullying is a disturbing behavior associated with the use of communication
technologies among adolescents.Many studies have been devoted to the
activities of cyber victims as risk factors, while others have considered parental
mediation a protective factor. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating
the joint contribution of parental mediation, peer norms and risky online
activities to the likelihood of being bullied on the Internet. To fill this gap, we
conducted a study among a representative sample of 495 sixth to eleventh
grade adolescents. We measured risky behavior online with items indicating
the frequency of posting personal details, sending an insulting message and
meeting face-to-face with a stranger met online. Respondents reported their
perceptions about their peers. attitudes toward these risky online behaviors.
We also measured three types of parental mediation: active guidance, restrictive
supervision and non-intervention. Binary logistic regression findings show
that risky online behaviors and peer norms regarding these behaviors had a
significant effect, suggesting that the likelihood of being bullied on the Internet
is associated with both risky behavior online and the norms prevalent
within the adolescents. peer group. Restrictive supervision had a significant
effect, implying that parents who feel their children are being bullied online
may increase their oversight. The results emphasize the critical role of peers
and the declining influence of parents in adolescence.
Outcome
Findings of the current study (Sasson & Mesch, 2016) indicate that social and technical supervision by parents was more prevalent among adolescents who reported being cyber victim than among those who were not. The findings suggested that the odds of girls being cyber victims are higher than those of boys. risky online behaviours (disclosing personal information, sending insulting messages, and meeting face to face with strangers met online) increase the odds of being cyberbullied. The results indicate that adolescents who fall victim to cyberbullying believe that their friends approve of engagement in risky online activities.