Face-to-face bullying worse than cyber-attacks, students say
Queensland University of
Technology, Science Daily
"You see their
smile, hear their laugh, see their face, see you break down," girl
student, 12.
"Because you can't block
face-to-face bullying," boy student, 16.
Both children were among 156
students who participated in an Australian study, led by QUT, to describe their
perceptions of being bullied.
The research, led and supervised
by Professor Marilyn Campbell from QUT's Faculty of Education, investigated the
students' responses to both cyber and face-to-face bullying and asked which was
more hurtful.
The study was published February issue of the Journal of School Violence titled "Students' Perceptions of Their Own Victimization: A youth voice perspective."
Professor Campbell said the
findings indicated significantly more victims perceived traditional bullying to
be more harsh and cruel than cyberbullying.
"It clearly indicates the
feelings of the children and the very real threat they have of being physically
harmed by another child," she said.
She said earlier studies found
Australian school students reported the highest prevalence of peer aggression
among OECD countries.
Professor Campbell said the
study showed 59 percent of the children participants felt face-to-face bullying
was worse for them than being cyberbullied.
Twenty-six per cent reported
that both forms of bullying were equally hurtful and the remaining 15 per cent
perceived cyberbullying to be worse.
"Children reported being
scared and very worried by the attacks but it was interesting to find a
majority of them were embarrassed that others were witnessing their
victimisation as it occurred," Professor Campbell said.
She said recent Australian
studies have reported traditional victimisation prevalence rates of between 16
and 40 per cent among students.
She also said a 2008 survey of
about 40 countries found Australian primary schools had the highest reported
incidence of bullying in the world.
She also said a review of
Australian studies found a conservative prevalence estimate for being
cyberbullied in a 12-month period was approximately 20 per cent of children
aged between eight to 17.
The participants, involved in
the latest research, were drawn from a larger case study sample of 3,112
students from across 29 different schools in Queensland, Victoria and South
Australia.
She said the focus of the
research was to give "voice" to students who reported being targeted
by both traditional bullies and cyberbullies.
"Few studies have directly
examined the perceptions of students who have experienced both forms of
bullying and explored which form was worse for them," she said.
Professor Campbell said the
perceptions of the students challenged a number of suppositions presented in
other literature that attempted to explain why cyberbullying was associated
with more negative outcomes than traditional or face-to-face bullying.
She said many students noted
that it was their ability or inability to take some form of action in response
to their victimisation that was a defining reason as to why they perceived
their experiences as they did.
Professor Campbell said taking
action against the person who cyberbullied them took the form of deleting a
message or 'blocking' a bully.
A girl, 12, said: "I was
upset that the person who cyberbullied me hid behind the computer like a
coward."
And a boy, 15, said:
"Because being physically abused is a lot worse than being abused by a
pathetic loser over the Internet."
She said other students referred
to the distance created by technology and indicated that traditional bullying
was worse than cyberbullying because: "It was real, live communication,
not done digitally, it cuts deeper," girl, 14.
"These students
specifically referred to the proximity of the bully during the incidents which
suggests proximity makes it more emotionally impacting than when it is buffered
by the distance that the online setting provides," Dr Campbell said.
She said the children's
reactions included feeling hurt, depressed, frightened, anxious, embarrassed
and worthless.
Professor Campbell said based on
these responses it appeared that when students felt significantly helpless to
act in response to their victimisation, it affected their interpretation of
which form of bullying was worse.
She said the study had
ramifications for schools and guidance counsellors.
"It is also important to
involve students and student leaders in anti-bullying programs as teachers are
already dealing with a crowded curriculum," she said.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided
by Queensland University of Technology. Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length.
Journal Reference:
Emma-Kate Corby, Marilyn
Campbell, Barbara Spears, Phillip Slee, Des Butler, Sally Kift. Students’ Perceptions of Their
Own Victimization: A Youth Voice Perspective. Journal of School Violence,
2014; 1 DOI:10.1080/15388220.2014.996719
Cite This Page:
Queensland University of
Technology. "Face-to-face bullying worse than cyber-attacks, students
say." Science Daily, 11 March 2015.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150311091046.htm>.