Professor Donna Cross: Cyber Bullying

Excerpts from Professor Donna Cross presentation at the Positive Schools Conference, Brisbane, 2011.

http://cyberbullyingforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Prof-Donna-Cross-Bullying-that-follows-you.pdf

The way we treat each other: Trends and promising recommendations from Australian youth

Cyber bullying is when an individual, or group, use the internet, mobile phones or other technology to intentionally hurt another person or group of people.

Effects – being bullied

– impaired social and emotional adjustment
(Nansel et al., 2001)

– poor academic achievement
(Beran & Lupart, 2009; Nansel et al., 2001)

– anxiety, depression and suicidality
( Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpela, Marttunen, Rimpela, & Rantanen, 1999)

– poorer physical health
(Wolke, Woods, Bloomfield, & Karstadt, 2001)

– higher absenteeism
(Strabstein & Piazza, 2008),

– increased loneliness and low self esteem
(Jankauskiene, Kardelis, Sukys, & Kardeliene, 2008)

Effects – bullying others

– anxiety, depression and suicidality
(Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2000; Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpela, Marttunen, Rimpela, & Rantanen, 1999)

– greater risk of delinquent behaviour
(Van der Wal et al., 2003)

– increased alcohol and substance use
(Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2000; Nansel et al., 2001)

The triple ‘C’ of risks online…

• Content risks accidental or deliberate (suicide, anorexia etc or Dora Sexplorer, hotbot-hotbod)

• Contact risks – strangers and bullying

• Confidentiality risks – invasion of privacy, hacking

What are young people doing?

• Flaming – heated exchange

• Harassing and threatening messages eg: “text wars”, “griefers”

• Denigration – sending nasty SMS, pictures or prank phone calls “Slam books” (websites or negative lists)

• Impersonation – Using person’s screen name or password eg: message to hate group w/ personal details

• Outing or trickery sharing private personal information, messages, pictures with others

• Posting “set up” images/video e.g. “happy slapping”

• Ostracism – Intentionally excluding others from an online group eg: knocked off buddy lists

• Sexting sharing explicit material by mobile phone

Students who are cyber bullied are…

 13 times more likely to be bullied OFFLINE

 4 times more likely to cyber bully others

 Twice as likely to
– have their own mobile phone
– face to face bully others

 Nearly twice as likely to
– report poor school grades
– have wireless internet at home

Students who cyber bully others are…

 18 times more likely to bully others OFFLINE

 4 times more likely to be cyber bullied

 Nearly 3 times more likely to have their own mobile

Where bullied?

19% – in classroom

51% – recess / lunch

7.5% – way to school

16% – way home from school

10-20% Online?

Predictors: Students who cyber bully others

• Access to mobile phone

• No internet use rules at home

• Wireless internet access at home

• Bully others face to face

• Cyber and face to face bullied

• Male, secondary student

• Favourable attitudes to cyber bullying

• Below average academic achievement

• More lonely and less connected to school

• Less supportive school
(Cross et al, 2008)

What actions can schools take to prevent and manage cyber bullying?

Mobilise young people…

Bystanders…

• Approximately 20-30% of students actively assist or reinforce the bullying, another 20-30% will be outsiders, and less than 20% of students intervene as defenders of the student being bullied

• Younger students are more likely to intervene

• Girls are more likely to intervene than boys

Mobilise bystanders

– The majority of peer interventions are effective, with the bullying stopping within 10 seconds of peer intervention (Hawkins et al., 2001)

– Reconciliation occurred when bystanders intervened and less when teacher intervened. (Fujisawa et al, 2005)

– Students who are ‘defended’ are better adjusted, and report less peer-reported victimisation one year later (Sainio, Veenstra, Huitsing, & Salmivalli, 2009)

What doesn’t seem to work?

• Grouping children with problem behaviours

• Peer modelling bullying eg: in role play

• Exclusion by pro-social peers

• Punishment only

• Diffusion of responsibility

• Peer counselling / mediation

• Banning technology…

Policy and action

• Consensus of needs/policy
– Needs / strengths assessment
– Involve students, parents and
teachers (survey?)
– Principal’s commitment

• Whole school consistency
– Coordinating group
– Classroom curriculum
– Common understandings eg: staff, relief teachers, parents, students
– Teacher modelling
– Collaborate with feeder schools

Capacity building

• Staff training
– Positive classroom management
– Reconciliation / restorative techniques
– Peer-support skills
– Cooperative work with parents
– Building relationships
– Cyber bullying prevention

Behaviour management/support
• Restorative techniques
– eg: Method of Shared Concern
• Higher risk program (monitoring, tutoring, counselling)
– eg: recording events, in-school suspension
• Inter-professional cooperation
– eg: school and child welfare authorities

Good classroom practice…

• Curriculum
– moral development
– empathy skills
– school policy information
– legal issues and reporting
– negative influences on online behaviour
– safer use of ICT
– preventative action, bystander education
– harm minimisation
– digital reputation

For additional information and graphics go to: http://cyberbullyingforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Prof-Donna-Cross-Bullying-that-follows-you.pdf