Cyber-bullying among in-school Adolescents: Prevalence and Coping Strategies across Gender

Abstract

Objective: In the technology-driven world nowadays, bullying has transcended the in-person to the cyberspace. Cyber-bullying can occur through email and text messages, chat rooms, social media, or instant messaging, and via unwelcome distribution of photos or videos, exclusion from online social networks, or theft of online identity. Cyber-bullying has caused a degeneration in the academic performance of numerous adolescents and the key variable that this study focused on is gender. Coping strategies have been developed to help adolescents withstand the trauma of cyber-bullying, and prominent ones include seeking support from parents and peers, confronting or ignoring the cyber bully. The purpose of the study is to determine the number of male and female students that experience cyber bullying in secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. Methods: Data for the study was collected through a survey of a sample of 1,123 in-school adolescents in gender-mixed secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. The research instrument was adapted from Corcoran’s (2013) instrument that dealt with incidence and coping strategies of cyber-bullying. The sampling technique used was proportionate stratified random sampling. Data was analyzed using standard deviation. Results: The findings indicate that cyber-bullying was prevalent among in-school adolescents in Anambra State secondary schools in Nigeria. The implication of this finding is that the availability and usage of social media has opened up avenues for people to indulge in a lot of negative activities that can be injurious to others. Conclusion: It is concluded that there is a prevalence of in-person cyberbullying among adolescents in Anambra State Secondary Schools. It is also verified that female adolescents in Anambra State experience cyber-bullying more than their male counterparts.