Adolescents and Cyber Bullying: The Precaution Adoption Process Model

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29 Scopus citations

Abstract

A survey of adolescents (N = 1,488) documented Facebook use and experience with cyber bullying. The study found that 84 % of adolescents (middle school through college undergraduates) use Facebook, and that most users log on daily. While 30 % of the sample reported being cyber bullied, only 12.5 % quit using the site, and only 18 % told a parent or school official about the abuse. Up to 75 % of middle school Facebook users have experienced cyber bullying. The current study was the first to apply the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) to cyber bullying or to test the model with children and adolescents. Results suggest that most adolescents are aware of cyber bullying and acknowledge it as a problem in their school. About half of the adolescents did not progress beyond Stage 2 of the PAPM (aware of the problem, but haven’t really thought about it). Adolescents also exhibited optimistic bias, believing they were less likely than peers to become cyber bullied. Implications for prevention education are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)719-728
Number of pages10
JournalEducation and Information Technologies
Volume21
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Education
  • Library and Information Sciences

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