Poster #226 - School-Age Children’s Experiences of Cyberbullying: Links to Empathetic Abilities and Familial Burden

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Bullying among children is a major health concern as victims may develop adverse physical/mental health issues (Allison et al., 2009; Nansel et al., 2004). Research suggests a negative relationship between victimization and empathy, with victims displaying less ability to infer others’ thoughts and feelings (Kokkinos & Kipritsi, 2012). Shared parent-child bullying-victimization has also been noted, with a two-fold increased risk for children’s victimization if their parents were bullied as youths (Allison et al., 2014). Less is known about the intergenerational transmission of empathy skills, with positive associations being documented only for mother-daughter dyads (Barnett et al., 1980). Furthermore, cyberbullying is escalating with increased access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT; Cassidy et al., 2013), while most cyberbullying studies are limited to the experiences of individuals 11-years and older. Yet, according to the International Telecommunication Union, American children begin using ICT as young as age three (2008).
Thus, the current study examined intergenerational relationships between bullying, victimization, and empathetic abilities in a sample of 7- to 13-year-olds and their mothers. As part of a larger study on bullying aggression, 51 school-age children (7y; 2m – 10;6; 49% girls) and 50 early adolescents (10;7 – 13;11; 50% girls) and their mothers participated. Children completed a victimization/bullying questionnaire (Campfield, 2008) and mothers completed assessments of their child’s and their own empathetic abilities (Empathizing/Systematizing Quotient Scale, Cambridge Behavioral Scale), a measure of their own previous experiences with bullying (Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire), as well as their child’s strengths and difficulties (SDQ).
As shown in the table, older children were found to report more experiences acting as a cyber perpetrator and a face-to-face perpetrator, as well as being a victim of cyberbullying than their younger counterparts. While each age group scored within the normal range for the SDQ, different relationships were found for younger and older children’s bullying and victimization and their strengths and difficulties. For younger children, cyber victimization was related to having a more negative impact on the child and their family’s life (p = .02). In contrast, older children’s face-to-face victimization was significantly related to the amounts of difficulties they face (p = .008). Further analyses revealed older children’s face-to-face victimization was related to their mother reporting that she had been frequently victimized as well (p = .015) and to a lower level of maternal empathy (p = .04). Finally, while older children’s own empathetic/systematizing abilities were not related to their bullying or victimization, significant associations were found for the younger age group. Specifically, instances of cyber victimization were related to a less empathetic cognitive style (p = .049), whereas instances of being a face-to-face perpetrator was related to a less systematizing cognitive style (p = .009). Our results call into question the early impact of cyberbullying, intergenerational relationships for peer victimization and the role of empathy in this association. Further research is warranted to investigate children’s experiences of cyberbullying well before they are introduced to anti-cyberbullying campaigns in middle school and high school.

Authors

• Alexis Godfrey, Grand Valley State University
  Presenting Author

• Naomi J. Aldrich, Grand Valley State University
  Non-Presenting Author