Does gender matter in cyberbullying perpetration? An empirical investigation

Randy Y. M. Wong; Christy M K Cheung; Bo Xiao

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.022

Does gender matter in cyberbullying perpetration? An empirical investigation

Randy Y. M. Wong^*, Christy M K Cheung, Bo Xiao

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Business

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

99 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a highly prevalent online misbehavior that has recently received public attention due to its potentially devastating consequences. In response to the call to understand the mechanism leading to cyberbullying perpetration, this study draws on I³ theory to understand the decisions of young adults to engage in cyberbullying. Furthermore, it examines the influence of gender on various determinants of cyberbullying perpetration. The results of an online survey involving 208 university students reveal that both cyberbullying victimization and perceived online disinhibition enhance the intention to perpetrate cyberbullying, whereas self-control is a critical buffer that represses the propensity to cyberbully others. Our findings also show that the factors influencing cyberbullying differ in strength for male and female students. We believe that these findings not only provide a theoretical explanation of cyberbullying perpetration but also offer valuable insights for combatting cyberbullying among university students.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	247-257
Number of pages	11
Journal	Computers in Human Behavior
Volume	79
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.022
Publication status	Published - Feb 2018

Scopus Subject Areas

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Human-Computer Interaction
General Psychology

User-Defined Keywords

Cyberbullying perpetration
Cyberbullying victimization
Gender
I theory
Perceived online disinhibition
Self-control

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.022

Cite this

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title = "Does gender matter in cyberbullying perpetration? An empirical investigation",

abstract = "Cyberbullying is a highly prevalent online misbehavior that has recently received public attention due to its potentially devastating consequences. In response to the call to understand the mechanism leading to cyberbullying perpetration, this study draws on I3 theory to understand the decisions of young adults to engage in cyberbullying. Furthermore, it examines the influence of gender on various determinants of cyberbullying perpetration. The results of an online survey involving 208 university students reveal that both cyberbullying victimization and perceived online disinhibition enhance the intention to perpetrate cyberbullying, whereas self-control is a critical buffer that represses the propensity to cyberbully others. Our findings also show that the factors influencing cyberbullying differ in strength for male and female students. We believe that these findings not only provide a theoretical explanation of cyberbullying perpetration but also offer valuable insights for combatting cyberbullying among university students.",

keywords = "Cyberbullying perpetration, Cyberbullying victimization, Gender, I theory, Perceived online disinhibition, Self-control",

author = "Wong, {Randy Y. M.} and Cheung, {Christy M K} and Bo Xiao",

note = "Funding Information: The work described in this article was partially supported by a grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. HKBU 12511016 ).",

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AU - Wong, Randy Y. M.

AU - Cheung, Christy M K

AU - Xiao, Bo

N1 - Funding Information: The work described in this article was partially supported by a grant from the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. HKBU 12511016 ).

PY - 2018/2

Y1 - 2018/2

N2 - Cyberbullying is a highly prevalent online misbehavior that has recently received public attention due to its potentially devastating consequences. In response to the call to understand the mechanism leading to cyberbullying perpetration, this study draws on I3 theory to understand the decisions of young adults to engage in cyberbullying. Furthermore, it examines the influence of gender on various determinants of cyberbullying perpetration. The results of an online survey involving 208 university students reveal that both cyberbullying victimization and perceived online disinhibition enhance the intention to perpetrate cyberbullying, whereas self-control is a critical buffer that represses the propensity to cyberbully others. Our findings also show that the factors influencing cyberbullying differ in strength for male and female students. We believe that these findings not only provide a theoretical explanation of cyberbullying perpetration but also offer valuable insights for combatting cyberbullying among university students.

AB - Cyberbullying is a highly prevalent online misbehavior that has recently received public attention due to its potentially devastating consequences. In response to the call to understand the mechanism leading to cyberbullying perpetration, this study draws on I3 theory to understand the decisions of young adults to engage in cyberbullying. Furthermore, it examines the influence of gender on various determinants of cyberbullying perpetration. The results of an online survey involving 208 university students reveal that both cyberbullying victimization and perceived online disinhibition enhance the intention to perpetrate cyberbullying, whereas self-control is a critical buffer that represses the propensity to cyberbully others. Our findings also show that the factors influencing cyberbullying differ in strength for male and female students. We believe that these findings not only provide a theoretical explanation of cyberbullying perpetration but also offer valuable insights for combatting cyberbullying among university students.

KW - Cyberbullying perpetration

KW - Cyberbullying victimization

KW - Gender

KW - I theory

KW - Perceived online disinhibition

KW - Self-control

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U2 - 10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.022

DO - 10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.022

M3 - Journal article

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SN - 0747-5632

VL - 79

SP - 247

EP - 257

JO - Computers in Human Behavior

JF - Computers in Human Behavior

ER -

Does gender matter in cyberbullying perpetration? An empirical investigation

Abstract

Scopus Subject Areas

User-Defined Keywords

UN SDGs

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