Exploring cyberbullying in Saskatchewan

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a problem that has emerged as a byproduct of modern day technologies. This novel form of peer aggression occurs when one or more individuals use a technological medium for the purposes of threatening or harming others. Given that cyberbullying is a relatively new problem in Canada, research remains in its preliminary stages. Previous studies conducted in large urban centers in Alberta and Quebec have suggested that cyberbullying frequently occurs among middle years students. However, the characteristics of cyberbullying among rural students and students from other Canadian provinces are yet to be determined. For these reasons, the purpose of this study was to explore cyberbullying amongst students from rural and urban schools in Saskatchewan. More specifically, this study investigated the following questions:1.To what extent did youth experience cyberbullying? 2.What were the characteristics of cyberbullying?3.How did students respond to cyberbullying? 4.To what extent did parents and teachers become involved with cyberbullying incidents? Furthermore, how did students think these adults should have responded?To answer these questions, 396 students from a large public school division in central Saskatchewan completed an anonymous paper pencil questionnaire. Among the grades 7 to 9 students sampled, 34.6% admitted they cyber-bullied others and 49.5% said they were victims of cyberbullying. Further, the majority (69.4%) of the students reported that they knew someone who had been cyber-bullied. No significant differences were found between urban and rural students’ experiences with cyberbullying. However, significant gender differences were found as well as significant correlations between cyberbullying involvement and student grade level, frequency of computer use, school size, and school type. Unfortunately, the majority of cyber-bully victims and bystanders chose not to report the incident to adults. Victims of cyberbullying reported a variety of negative outcomes, especially anger and sadness. Students offered many suggestions for the prevention and intervention of cyberbullying. In particular, students thought teachers should educate their class about cyberbullying and parents should talk to their children about the issue.