Brittany Resendes

CEP603
Annotated Bibliography
Purpose:
Bullying has always been a problem that many children in our schools face. However,
with an increase in technological forums, a new form of bullying now exists called cyberbullying. Cyber bullying raises a lot of concerns for school professionals because majority of the
time, the bullying incidences take place off of school property and it is often not clear who the
perpetrator is and who is responsible for carrying out punishment of those perpetrators. This
annotated bibliography identifies recent research regarding cyber bullying and statistics on who
it effects, reasons they may be targets/perpetrators, and ideas on how to improve on the number
of incidence.
Findings:
Across research, it has been a priority to address the definitions of traditional bullying
and cyberbullying. Traditional bullying is also known as face-to-face bullying, whereas
cyberbullying is carried out over a technological device such as a cell phone, on social media, or
in chatrooms. After discussing the difference between the two types of bullying, other factors are
tested within to see if they are effected by bullying or if bullying effects certain factors. These
factors might include gender, age, closeness with parents, time spent on social media, access to
cellphones/iPads/iPods, mental health, loneliness, self-worth, and many more.
Age was a factor in majority of the research conducted. It was found that adolescence is
the time that the majority of both traditional and cyberbullying occurs. Technology becomes
more available at this age and children in adolescence still do not quite understand the long term
consequences of their cyber aggression. Another factor involved in majority of cyberbullying

research is gender. Research found that males were more likely to cyberbully in later adolescence
and females were more likely to cyberbully in early adolescence.
One finding throughout this research includes the idea that many individuals do not know
the identity of their perpetrator. Often times, children (more often female children) do not report
when they have been a victim of cyberbullying due to embarrassment or shame. With
cyberbullying, there are many forums where the perpetrator can remain anonymous but the
mental scars they leave their victims with can be damaging. Research found that a large number
of cyberbullying comes from video games where children can communicate with people through
the game from all over the world. When anonymity of a perpetrator is a factor, severity of
bullying may increase because there is no accountability.
Research found that children who do not have a close relationship with their parents are
more likely to be victims of bullying. It was also noted that those children who spent more time
on social media were more likely to participate in cyberbulling. Children who participate in
cyberbullying often times feel a greater sense of loneliness and a lower sense of self-worth.
Cyberbullying is associated with mental health as well. Both tradition and cyberbullying cause
an increase risk of mental health issues amongst girls specifically. However, traditional, not
cyberbullying was linked to an increase in suicide ideation.
Majority of the research conducted found that there needs to be a more proactive
approach to preventing instances of both traditional and cyber bullying. Suggestions of such an
approach include education beginning at a young age. Educating young children on the dangers
and consequences of bullying behavior on the internet or through other forms of technology
including cell-phones can decrease the likelihood of participating in these behaviors. In todays
society, children are being exposed to forums very early on in adolescence and are not old

enough to understand the consequences of their actions especially online because their seems to
be less accountability over the internet. It has been suggested that parents be the ones to educate
their children in the risks of social media and the importance of internet safety but also that
parents and school officials work as partners in keeping the internet a safe place for children to
experience and learn.
ACCORDINO, D. B., & ACCORDINO, M. P. (2011). AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF FACETO-FACE AND CYBERBULLYING IN SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS. American Secondary
Education, 40(1), 14-30.
A pilot study of 124 6th grade students was conducted to asses bullying and
cyberbullying. The students filled out a questionnaire that provided results about bullying and
cyberbullying in relation to parental closeness. Results of this study were that 39 students (32%)
reported being the target of bullying an average of 1.28 times. Sixteen students (13%) reported
being cyberbullied .52 times. Thirty-one students (25%) reported bullying another person and 6
students (5%) admitted participating in cyber bullying. Results of this study also indicate that
distant relationships with parents leads to a greater likelihood of being bullied. More time spent
in chatrooms and on social networking is linked with higher rates of cyberbullying and a history
of bullying others is linked to a higher chance of being cyberbullied. This article is helpful in
determining several factors that can lead to a greater likelihood of cyberbullying.
Bannink, R., Broeren, S., van de Looij Jansen, P. M., de Waart, F. G., & Raat, H. (2014). Cyber
and Traditional Bullying Victimization as a Risk Factor for Mental Health Problems and Suicidal
Ideation in Adolescents. Plos ONE, 9(4), 1-7. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094026
A two-year longitudinal study was conducted among 3181 first-year secondary school
students to examine whether traditional and cyber bullying victimization were associated with
adolescents mental health problems and suicidal ideation. Questionnaires were used to yield
results. Research was done to determine if gender differences in mental health and suicidal
ideation were present for both forms of bullying as well. Results of this study found a significant

relationship between gender and traditional bullying victimization and also between gender and
cyberbullying victimization on mental health problems. Among girls, mental health problems
were associated with both cyber and traditional bullying. Traditional bullying victimization is
associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation, whereas traditional, as well as cyber
bullying victimization is associated with an increased risk of mental health problems among
girls. This research is important to determine the gender differences in victimization and effect of
victimization of both traditional and cyberbullying.

Barlett, C., & Coyne, S. M. (2014). A meta-analysis of sex differences in cyber-bullying

behavior: The moderating role of age. Aggressive Behavior, 40(5), 474-488.
doi:10.1002/ab.21555
A meta-analysis was conducted that included 109 research articles that produced 122
effect sizes sampling 214,167 participants. Overall, the results revealed that males were more
likely to be cyberbullies than females; however, this sex difference was dependent on age.
Results also indicated that females were more likely to cyber bully and to report cyberbullying
during early adolescence while males were more likely to be cyber bullies during later
adolescence. This study provides useful information on the role gender plays on cyberbullying.
DePaolis, K., & Williford, A. (2015). The Nature and Prevalence of Cyber Victimization Among
Elementary School Children. Child & Youth Care Forum, 44(3), 377-393. doi:10.1007/s10566014-9292-8
A study was conducted to examine the nature and prevalence of cyber victimization
among a sample of 660 3rd-5th grade students from six schools. These students completed an
online survey that measured traditional and cyber-bullying victimization.Descriptive statistics
were used to determine prevalence of bullying, mechanism used to bully (social media, cellphone, etc), identity of the perpetrator, and whether or not incidents were reported to others. One
result found that 114 of students (17.7%) reported cyber victimization, most often through online

games. Only 38% (43) of the cyber victims knew the identity of the cyber bully and almost 50%
reported that they did not tell anyone about the incident. Other results found that children who
were victims of cyber bullying also reported a higher rate of traditional victimization and
bullying involvement. They also reported having higher pro-bullying attitudes and lower prodefending attitudes. This article highlights the need for age appropriate prevention and
intervention for elementary schools.
Moreno, M. A., Egan, K. G., Bare, K., Young, H. N., & Cox, E. D. (2013). Internet safety
education for youth: stakeholder perspectives. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-6. doi:10.1186/14712458-13-543
Surveys were distributed to public school teachers, clinicians, parents, and adolescents.
The survey asked questions about at what age internet safety education should begin as well as
what their experiences have been in teaching and learning internet safety. The sample size was
356 individuals; 77 teachers, 111 clinicians, 72 parents, and 96 adolescents. Results indicate that
the mean age to begin teaching internet safety was 7.2 years old. Majority of adults surveyed
(teachers, parents, and clinicians) were willing to teach internet safety however, all groups that
were surveyed found it was the parents responsibility to teach youth internet safety. This article
provides information from a wide range of participants on when internet safety should become a
priority and whose responsibility it is to teach our youth the dangers adolescents are exposed to
via technology.
Morrow, A., & Downey, C. A. (2013). Perceptions of adolescent bullying: Attributions of blame
and responsibility in cases of cyber-bullying. Scandinavian Journal Of Psychology, 54(6), 536540. doi:10.1111/sjop.12074
A sample of 163 students from a Midwestern US state university participated in this
study. There were 52 (31.9%) male and 111 (68.1%) female participants. This study found that
when the outcome of bullying is foreseeable, the more responsible the bully is for that outcome,
the more they intended that outcome, and they are more deserving of blame for creating that

outcome. The study also tried to determine whether or not a bully was deserving of punishment
which was not quite significant, however, researchers believe that their hypothesis was supported
in terms of victim outcomes being equally attributed to bullying perpetrators regardless of if the
bullying took place face-to-face or online. This article shows the true danger in cyber-bullying
because bullies do not see the direct effect that their attacks have on their victims, such as them
crying, or any marks on their body. Victims are still being greatly effected emotionally and
mentally by online bullies but it is harder to place blame, punish, or know what the intent is of
online bullies.
Ockerman, M. S., Kramer, C., & Bruno, M. (2014). From the School Yard to Cyber Space: A
Pilot Study of Bullying Behaviors Among Middle School Students. Research In Middle Level
Education Online, 37(6), 1-18.
A pilot study of 352 middle school students (grade 5-8) was conducted in the form of a
questionnaire to determine prevalence rates of bullying, both online and traditional. The
questionnaire was in the form of a 6-point likert scale ranging from never to everyday.
Students were asked questions to identify the forms of social-media and overall technology that
they have access to. Other questions were aimed at identifying bully perpetrators and bullying
targets. Results indicate that verbal bullying ranked the highest followed by social bullying. This
study showed that an overwhelming amount of middle school students have participated in
bullying behaviors. Middle school is typically the age that most students gain access to more and
more technological forums where bullying behaviors become easier to achieve, therefore, it is
important to study this age group and their behaviors as far as traditional and cyberbullying to
figure out interventions and specifically preventative interventions to put in place.
Schoffstall, C. L., & Cohen, R. (2011). Cyber Aggression: The Relation between Online
Offenders and Offline Social Competence. Social Development, 20(3), 587-604.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2011.00609.x

This study included 192 students from grades 3-6. Information was collected as part of an
ongoing study based on group assessments. The assessments included evaluations of aggression
as well as evaluations of individual and group social consequences. Classroom peers were
responsible for reporting instances of traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Important factors
that were also measured and taken into consideration were students feelings of loneliness, selfworth, popularity, and social acceptability. Results found that use of social media was
significantly related to incidence of cyber aggression. Cyber aggression was also significantly
related to feelings of loneliness and negatively related to feelings of self-worth. Another result of
the research was that the more that children participated in cyber aggression, the less social
acceptability they experienced.