Less Computer Access: Is It a Risk or a Protective Factor for Cyberbullying and Face-to-Face Bullying Victimization among Adolescents in the United States?

Jun Sung Hong; Miao Wang; Rekha Negi; Dexter R Voisin; Lois M Takahashi; Andre Iadipaolo

doi:10.3390/bs13100834

Less Computer Access: Is It a Risk or a Protective Factor for Cyberbullying and Face-to-Face Bullying Victimization among Adolescents in the United States?

Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Oct 11;13(10):834. doi: 10.3390/bs13100834.

Authors

Jun Sung Hong^{1

2}, Miao Wang³, Rekha Negi^{4

5}, Dexter R Voisin⁶, Lois M Takahashi⁷, Andre Iadipaolo¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
² Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea.
³ Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
⁴ Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110021, India.
⁵ Bullying Research Network, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.
⁶ Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
⁷ Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.

Abstract

The present study investigates whether less computer access is associated with an increase or decrease in cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying victimization. Data were derived from the 2009-2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children U.S. Study, consisting of 12,642 adolescents aged 11, 13, and 15 years (Mage = 12.95). We found that less computer usage was negatively associated with cyberbullying victimization and face-to-face bullying victimization. The findings from the study have implications for research and practice.

Keywords: adolescents; bullying; computer; cyberbullying; socioeconomic status; victimization.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Center for Health Administration Studies and the STI/HIV Intervention Network at the University of Chicago, awarded to Dexter R. Voisin.