Cyberbullying among adolescents in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China: a cross-national study in Chinese societies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Using cross-societal probability data consisting of 2582 adolescents from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Taiwan, this research investigated the prevalence or rates of cyberbullying and explored the similarities and differences in ranking orders of cyberbullying and victimisation behaviour and in associations of gender and grade level with cyberbullying among these three societies. The results revealed that cyberbullying is prevalent and online curses/insults/humiliation was the most frequent form of cyberbullying. The ranking orders of behaviour showed more discordance than concordance across societies. Males are more likely to report perpetration. No gender differences were found in victimisation. Grade-level differences in cyberbullying were shown to be weak or insignificant across societies. This study implies that the prevalence and behavioural ranking orders of cyberbullying vary, but the associations of gender and grade level with cyberbullying are similar across these diverse Chinese societies. Potential policy interventions regarding cyberbullying in Chinese societies were discussed.