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Abstract:
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In the last three decades, there has been well-documented research examining the
prevalence of bullying in the school setting. Cyberbullying was born out of our current
technological age, in a time where teens and pre-teens have access to cell phones and
computers in their daily lives. Computers and cell phones were meant to be used as
communication tools but have too often become the vehicle for bullying. The purpose of
this study was to gather information on the effects of text message bullying on
adolescents in their daily lives at school and outside of school. The information will be
gathered to facilitate prevention efforts in schools intended for students, staff ,and parents. A convenience sample of ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students were
selected from a rural northern California high school. Two-hundred and twenty-two
students completed questionnaires regarding their involvement in traditional and text
bullying; exploring if they participated as the bully, the victim, or perhaps both. As in previous studies, results found that victims who were text-bullied reported more
depressive symptoms and that there was a strong correlation between text bullying,
traditional bullying, and a student's connection to school. Contrary to previous findings,
text bully victims were not consistently found to have had a history of being traditional
bully victims. Findings revealed the importance of implementing evidence-based bullying
reduction programs in all school settings that include staff, students, and parents. |
