A Life-Course View of Cyberbullying Developmental Trajectories among Korean Adolescents: Latent Class Growth Analysis Approach

• In Event: Adolescent Deviancy and Contemporary Issues in the Life Course

Abstract

This study tested a life-course view of cyberbullying developmental trajectories through the estimation of a latent class growth analysis. Data from a 6-year longitudinal study of middle- and high-school studies from South Korea were analyzed to examine if there are unique growth trajectories for cyberbullying perpetration when accounting for low self-control and opportunity factors. Results suggest that there are three distinct subgroups: (1) early-onset (5.4%), (2) the late peak (3.2%), and (3) a normative trajectory group (91.4%). Low self-control was found to be significantly associated with a high frequency of cyberbullying during early adolescence although decreased in late adolescence. In addition, opportunity factors were more likely to engage in low frequency of cyberbullying perpetration during early adolescence. But opportunity factors did not mediate the link between low self-control and class membership of cyberbullying perpetration.

Authors

• Sujung Cho, Southern Illinois University

• Myunghoon Roh, Salve Regina University