Adolescents who are more likely to be bullied in school are also more likely to be bullied in internet chatrooms.
This finding was the result of research conducted by Catarina Katzer, Detleft Fetchenhauer, and Frank Belschak. Their research was published in the Journal of Media Psychology in 2009.
To investigate the similarities and differences between bullying in school and cyberbullying, Katzer and her colleagues administered a standardized survey to 1,700 German students in the 5th to 11th grade. The survey assessed a number of variables related to bullying, such as how often it occurred, where it occurred, and by whom. The survey also assessed variables such as socio-economic status, social integration, risky behaviors, and self-esteem.
Their research “demonstrated an association between victimization experiences in school and in internet chatrooms: adolescents who fall victim to bullying in school are also more likely to experience chatroom victimization.”
They also found that bullying in school was very similar to cyberbullying. Like those bullied in school, those bullied online tended to report low levels of popularity and self-esteem.
The main difference, according to the authors, is the context in which bullying occurs and the level of social integration. While those in a school setting tended to reporting lower levels of social integration, those bullied in online chatrooms tended to report higher levels.
The study also found that those who were victims of bullying in either context also tended to be bullies themselves.
“It should be noted that own bullying behavior may be a consequence of previous victimization experiences and could be interpreted as “fighting back” or “letting off steam.” This would explain that appearance of victims of minor school bullying as internet chatroom bullies,” as Katzer and her colleagues explain.
However, the cause-and-effect relationship between being a victim of bullying and becoming a bully remains unclear.
Reference:
Katzer, C., Fetchenhauer, D. & Belschank, F. (2009). Cyberbullying: Who are the victims? A comparison of victimization in internet chatrooms and victimization in school. Journal of Media Psychology, Vol 21, No 1: 25-36.