Cross-Sectional Method Of Analysis

After reviewing sixteen peer reviewed research articles devised on research completed with adolescents around the world, I gained a better understanding of how adolescents respond to cyberbullying in comparison to traditional forms of bullying (i.e. verbal, physical, emotional). Although it is not as prevalent as traditional bullying, cyberbullying has been on the rise with recent technological advancements. Starting at the bottom of page 7 and ending at the top of page 9, a literature review critique was completed to identify disparities and gaps in the peer-reviewed research articles studied. Moreover, to better address concerns within the school environment and the effect bullying has on students, it is critical to review current research while noting successful and ineffective interventions. Additional research conducted can utilize previous data to elect how to proceed in order to formulate interventions that effectively address the impacts of

With the internet and mobile phones being an everyday feature in most peoples lives this has opened the door to a new type of bulling known as cyber bullying. Children who have been bullied at school could at one time come home and get away from their tormentors but now with such technologies available there is the all too unfortunate reality of their problems coming home with them in the form of texts, emails and abuse through other websites.

The internet has created an entirely new world of social communications particularly for youths. There are no more barriers. Family, friends, young and old may now stay in touch with just about everyone, anywhere in the world through the use of email, text messaging, web chat, and instant messaging. Although, most interactions are friendly and in good nature, there are some that are not. The use of technology as a tool to antagonize, torment and intimidate others is now a widespread problem. Sadly, this form of bullying like all others is most common among children and young adults. Research done by Cox Communications on children between 13 thru 18 year-olds, 25 percent said they were cyber-bullied whether online or by cell phone (Cox Com. 2009). Also in 2007, the National Crime Prevention Council reported cyber-bullying as a problem that affected approximately half of all American teens. Since it is popular among this group of American teens, then it is safe look at some of possible reason cyber bullies of this age group are encouraged to take part in such activity.

1. This article was written based on a study of cyber bullying behaviors in a large group of middle and high school students. Increases in technology, and access to that technology have increased student ability to bully using an online forum. Not a lot of research had been done into this subject at the time of this article. Taking this into consideration there had been a few large scale studies done that corroborated the belief that cyber bullying is a significant problem. Researchers believed that due to the potential for exposure to this type of bullying, more studies needed to be done. With increased research there was the hope of diminishing the number of incidents of cyber bullying and the effects of those incidents. The research that had been completed also pointed to additional issues, including behavior problems, suspensions, substance abuse and depression among students who had experienced cyber bullying. The other side of previous research showed that the students who used cyber bullying as a weapon were more aggressive in their behaviors.

Cyberbullying is a relatively new threat, and it is very similar to traditional bullying. Despite the fact that cyberbullying and traditional bullying both share the common goal of harassment, cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it does not stop at the schoolyard, and can continue when the victim is far away from the aggressor. It is just as devastating as common bullying, and sometimes is even more damaging. Professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin note in their journal, “Cyberbullying Creates Dangerous Stress and Anxiety”, that cyberbullying affects anywhere between 10-40% of students (contingent on their age group) (par. 1). J.D. Kelly A. Albin, in her article “Bullies in a Wired World”, defines cyberbullying as “…the ‘willful and repeated harm inflicted through use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices’” (157). It is caused by the fact that children feel their actions are mitigated when they use social media, as it creates the illusion of indirectness, and its effects range anywhere from mild depression to suicide.

Whilst cyber bullying is not physical it’s emotional and psychological effects are devastating for the victim and can often lead to suicide and depression (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). Social Networking sites act as a platform where bullies can say things they might not usually say to someone in person, anonymity and less physical proximity act as a wall between the bully and the victim, none the less, the words or rumors’ that are shared are still just as hurtful. Bullies often feel more confident online and they can contact their victims anytime, anywhere, day or night, not just in the school yard (Smith et al., 2008).” (Procon. (24 O). Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/)

In “Cyberbullying Is Serious but Not an Epidemic” Larry Magid argues that there is a problem with cyber bullying, but maybe we shouldn’t make such a big about it. He states that cyber bullying is an aspect that leads adolescents to suicide, but there are also other factors as well. Some factors could include existing depression, issues at home, or issues with self-esteem. Magid goes on to say that bullying isn’t as harmful as we all make it out to be. We should take action when it comes to children being bullied but maybe not overreact like we tend to.

Having discovered that cyberbullying is leading to alcoholism and depression, it is becoming clear that this issue must be addressed (Gamez-Guadix, Gini, Calvete, 2015). Bullying is now taking place beyond the at school verbal and physical at school and is now being inflicted online anonymously, so you are not able to know who is doing it and it reaches a larger audience (Gamez-Guadix, Gini, Calvete, 2015). In conducting a cross-sectional study of adolescents, they were able to establish a link to depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide ideation and attempts to cyberbullying (Gamez-Guadix, Gini, Calvete, 2015).

Schneider’s FRS, NHSI, and the Flexible System for Diagnosis of Schizophrenia are all cross-sectional approaches to diagnosing schizophrenia (Fenton, Mathews, & Mosher, 1981). A cross-sectional approach is a study that is only observational, and encompasses many subjects from many places. When this approach is applied to diagnosing schizophrenia, it implies that these systems can diagnose numerous individuals from many different places in the same manner. Feighner Criteria and the DSM-V are longitudinal approaches to diagnosing schizophrenia (Fenton, Mathews, & Mosher, 1981). Like the cross-sectional approach, the longitudinal approach is observational only, but instead of encompassing many individuals, this approach follows a few individuals

Hase et al. focus on how bullying and cyberbullying differ pertaining to teenager’s mental health. Olweus focuses on first dismissing common misconceptions of cyberbullying given by the media, then he goes through his results in an extremely logical and statistical manner. He states that cyberbullying is directly related to traditional bullying, and therefore the impact on mental health can not be directly attributed to one of the two forms, but rather both. Li begins with pathos, giving many examples of cyberbullying and how traumatic it was for the victims. She claims that cyberbullying has a greater negative impact on mental health, not just by

The author’s main focus is to navigate if there is a link between cyberbullying (mostly caused by cell phones and computers) affecting victims or the bully’s self-esteem in a negative or positive way. The author pays particular attention if there are external factors which leads to cyberbullying such as beliefs, personal values and interpersonal conflicts. The author uses an effective method to find a correlation between the two factors. A survey is given out to a random sample of 1963 students from 30 middle schools in the United States to adolescents between grade 6 to grade 8 which included their age, gender and race. The students had to fill out a survey of 10 questions which would determine youth’s self-esteem levels. Moreover, after finding out the results of self-esteem levels among the youth, two other surveys were given out which would help the authors get a clear view of the link between cyberbullying and self esteem. First survey is about prevalence and type of cyberbullying victimisation which would address about the youth’s experience as a victim. The next survey is about prevalence and type of cyberbullying offending which would give the results for being a bully. I believe this was an effective method used by the authors because it asked various questions and covered various topics in its survey, the authors also used software such as SPSS and alpha level of 0.5 to get a better understanding of the data. The article is objective because the methods and the results are based on the statistics that were collected and not on personal opinions. This is an useful source because it relates back to my own topic which is cyberbullying platforms and effects on social relationships. The results of the article would help me build on my own topic by giving me a clear view on how cyberbullying affects youth’s self-esteem and affect

Emotional distress is probably the biggest difference between cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Cyberbullying is a very serious matter. Journal of School Health Association Stassen, Berger noted, “almost every student is threatened occasionally. Consequently, most of the victims will find protective strategies who suffer from anxious, aggression, or irritation. Accordingly, this may cause teenagers to become victims” (647). The emotional effect of cyber bullies to their victims has increased the risk of depression, social isolation, and obesity. Moreover, the victims become powerless with daily harassment online with no control, they have suicidal thoughts. Although, traditional bullying have a similar serious impact of emotional distress.

Internet usage in children and adolescents has been increasing in a steadily fashion in the past number of years and with the increase in internet usage, a new form of bullying has developed – Cyber bullying. Cyber bullying can be defined as “the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person,” (Merriam-Webster, 2012). This form of bullying can come through various mediums including but not limited to text messages, emails, videos, and social networking sites. There is an overwhelming amount of information that defines cyber bullying, identifies the demographics of bullies and victims of cyber bullying, and identifies the outcomes of cyber bullying on victims. More focus needs to be placed on who the perpetrators

While cyberbullying affects each child differently, there has been a clear correlation between victims and non-victims and their self-esteem. In one study, bullied victims had less self-esteem than those who were not bullied online. Additionally, it was reported that victims of cyberbullying were thirty percent more likely to think about committing suicide (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2012). With the lack of parent supervision, it was found that those who spent more than three hours per school day on social networks were 110% more at risk to be a cyberbully victim as compared those who do not spend as much time online (Gilkerson, 2012). What may be worse is the fact that majority of those bullied online do not tell their parents or an adult about what occurred. Despite the fact that most adolescents state that bullying occurs more offline then online, cyberbullying is still a real and large threat to the youth of America (Lenhart, 2007).

Cyberbullying affects everybody today, both children and adults. Due to the development of technology today, cyber-bullying has become one of the most difficult issues to resolve in our society. The internet is used today, more than ever. People view the internet can be viewed on just about any new mobile device. The internet and mobile phones systems are the two biggest types of communication which play a crucial role in our daily activities and development of identities. On the other hand, these same technologies are also often used negatively.