The Predictability of Routine Activity Theory for Cyberbullying Victimization Among Children and Youth: Risk and Protective Factors

Abstract

Cyberbullying has been pervading worldwide with negative implications for victims. Therefore, there is an urgent need to better understand this phenomenon and the factors that predict it, as the basis for effective prevention and intervention efforts. The current research aims to examine routine activity theory (RAT) as a theoretical framework predictive of cyberbullying victimization (CV) among children and youth. It was hypothesized that each of the RAT measures and the convergence of all measures predict CV. Data were collected from 5,719 primary, middle, and high school Israeli students (51.9% females) during the 2019–2020 school year via online questionnaires. Regression and moderation analyses were conducted to assess the predictability of CV from RAT measures, separately and converged. All RAT measures, separately and converged, predict CV. While off-line trust negatively predicts CV, other control variables, that is, online trust, educational institution phase, and gender, do not. Implications for school programs and guidelines for parents address the risk and protective factors of CV found. This study provides support for the predictability of CV from RAT and expands the knowledge of risk and protective factors predictive of CV.

Keywords

youth violence media and violence internet and abuse bullying cyberbullying victimization social networks routine activity theory

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aboujaoude

Savage

M. W.

Starcevic

Salame

W. O.

(2015). Cyberbullying: Review of an old problem gone viral. Journal of Adolescent Health , 57, 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.04.011

Acock

A. C.

(2012). What to do about missing values. In Cooper

Camic

P. M.

Long

D. L.

Panter

A. T.

Rindskopf

Sher

K. J.

(Eds.), Data analysis and research publication: APA handbook of research methods in psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 27–50). American Psychological Association.

Aizenkot

(2017). WhatsApp cyberbullying among children and adolescents in Israel: A pilot research. Educational Counseling , 20, 363–389. http://www.shaanan.ac.il/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/20-gilayon-male-1.pdf

Aizenkot

(2020). Cyberbullying experiences in classmates’ WhatsApp discourse, across public and private contexts. Children and Youth Services Review , 110, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104814

Aizenkot

Kashy-Rosenbaum

(2018). Cyberbullying in WhatsApp classmates’ groups: Evaluation of a prevention program implemented in Israeli elementary and middle school classrooms. New Media and Society , 20(12), 4709–4727. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818782702

Aizenkot

Kashy-Rosenbaum

(2019). CV in WhatsApp classmate groups among Israeli elementary, middle, and high school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519842860

Allison

K. R.

Bussey

(2016). Cyber-bystanding in context: A review of the literature on witnesses’ responses to cyberbullying. Children and Youth Services Review , 65(c), 183–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.03.026

American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress in America: Coping with change Part 2, technology and social media . https://doi-org.ezproxy.aac.ac.il/10.1037/e500872017-001

Anderson

M. A.

(2016). Parents, teens and digital monitoring . Pew Research Center. https://www.pewinternet.org/2016/01/07/parents-teens-and-digital-monitoring/

10.

Anderson

Jiang

(2018). Teens, social media & technology 2018 . https://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2018/05/PI_2018.05.31_TeensTech_FINAL.pdf

11.

Ansary

N. S.

(2020). Cyberbullying: Concepts, theories, and correlates informing evidence-based best practices for prevention. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 50. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aac.ac.il/10.1016/j.avb.2019.101343

12.

Barlett

C. P.

(2017). From theory to practice: Cyberbullying theory and its application to intervention. Computers in Human Behavior , 72, 269–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.060

13.

Barlinska

Szuster

Winiewski

Dehue

Völlink

(2013). Cyberbullying among adolescent bystanders: Role of the communication medium, form of violence, and empathy. Cyberbullying Research: New Perspectives and Alternative Methodologies , 23(1), 37–51. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2137

14.

Bossler

A. M.

Holt

T. J.

May

D. C.

(2012). Predicting online harassment victimization among a juvenile population. Youth & Society , 44(4), 500–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X11407525

15.

Bowlby

(1969). Attachment and loss (Vol. 1: Attachment). Basic Books.

16.

Brochado

Soares

Fraga

(2016). A scoping review on studies of cyberbullying prevalence among adolescents. Trauma, Violence & Abuse , 18(5), 523–531. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016641668

17.

Cho

Y. K.

Yoo

(2017). Cyberbullying, internet and SNS usage types, and perceived social support: A comparison of different age groups. Information, Communication & Society , 20(10), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1228998

18.

Choi

K. S.

(2008). Computer crime victimization and integrated theory: An empirical assessment. International Journal of Cyber Criminology , 2(1), 308–333.

19.

Choi

K. S.

Cho

Lee

J. R.

(2019). Impacts of online risky behaviors and cybersecurity management on cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization among Korean youth: Application of cyber-routine activities theory with latent class analysis. Computers in Human Behavior , 100, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.06.007

20.

Choi

K. S.

Earl

Lee

J. R.

Cho

(2019). Diagnosis of cyber and non-physical bullying victimization: A lifestyles and routine activities theory approach to constructing effective preventative measures. Computers in Human Behavior , 92, 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.014

21.

Cohen

L. E.

Felson

(1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review , 44(4), 588–608. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094589

22.

Cohen

L. E.

Kluegel

J. R.

Land

K. C.

(1981). Social inequality and predatory criminal victimization: An exposition and test of a formal theory. American Sociological Review , 46(5), 505–524. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094935

23.

Cole

D. A.

Zelkowitz

R. L.

Nick

Martin

N. C.

Roeder

K. M.

Sinclair-McBride

Spinelli

(2016). Longitudinal and incremental relation of cybervictimization to negative self-cognitions and depressive symptoms in young adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology , 44(7), 1321–1332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-0123-7

24.

Costello

Hawdon

Ratliff

(2017). Confronting online extremism: The effect of self-help, collective efficacy, and guardianship on being a target for hate Speech. Social Science Computer Review , 35(5), 587–605. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439316666272

25.

Cross

Shaw

Hadwen

Cardoso

Slee

Roberts

Thomas

Barnes

(2016). Longitudinal impact of the cyber friendly schools’ program on adolescents’ cyberbullying behavior. Aggressive Behavior ,42(2), 166–180. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21609

26.

Dredge

Gleeson

de la Piedad Garcia

(2014). Presentation on Facebook and risk of CV. Computers in Human Behavior , 40, 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.035

27.

Elsaesser

Russell

Ohannessian

C. M.

Patton

(2017). Parenting in a digital age: A review of parents’ role in preventing adolescent cyberbullying. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 35, 62–72. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aac.ac.il/10.1016/j.avb.2017.06.004

28.

Espelage

D. L.

Hong

J. S.

(2017). Cyberbullying prevention and intervention efforts: Current knowledge and future directions. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry , 62(6), 374–380. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743716684793

29.

Hawdon

Costello

Ratliff

Hall

Middleton

(2017). Conflict management styles and cybervictimization: Extending routine activity theory. Sociological Spectrum , 37(4), 250–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2017.1334608

30.

Hawdon

Oksanen

Räsänen

(2014). Victims of online hate groups: American youth’s exposure to online hate speech. In Hawdon

Ryan

Lucht

(Eds.), The causes and consequences of group violence: From bullies to terrorists (pp. 165–182). Lexington Books.

31.

Hayes

A. F.

(2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach . Guilford publications.

32.

Heiman

Olenik-Shemesh

(2015). Cyberbullying experience and gender differences among adolescents in different educational settings. Journal of Learning Disabilities ,48(2), 146–155. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219413492855

33.

Heiman

Olenik-Shemesh

Eden

(2014). Violence and victimization on the internet: Features, patterns, risk factors and protective factors among children and adolescents. Research report for the Ministry of Education. http://ecat.education.gov.il/Attachment/DownloadFile?downloadId=7735

34.

Hindelang

M. J.

Gottfredson

M. R.

Garofalo

(1978). Victims of personal crime: An empirical foundation for a theory of personal victimization . Ballinger.

35.

Hinduja

Patchin

J. W.

(2009). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying . Corwin Press.

36.

Hinduja

Patchin

J. W.

(2019). Connecting adolescent suicide to the severity of bullying and cyberbullying. Journal of School Violence , 18(3), 333–346. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2018.1492417

37.

Hollis

M. E.

Felson

Welsh

B. C.

(2013). The capable guardian in routine activities theory: A theoretical and conceptual reappraisal. Crime Prevention and Community Safety , 15(1), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1057/cpcs.2012.14

38.

Holt

T. J.

Fitzgerald

Bossler

A. M.

Chee

(2016). Assessing the risk factors of cyber and mobile phone bullying victimization in a nationally representative sample of Singapore youth. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology , 60(5), 598–615. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X14554852

39.

Inchley

Currie

Young

Samdal

Torsheim

Augustson

Mathison

Aleman-Diaz

Molcho

Weber

Barnekow

(2016). Growing up unequal: Gender and socioeconomic differences in young people’s health and well-being, health behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC) study—International report from the 2013/2014 survey . WHO. https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/303438/HSBC-No.7-Growing-up-unequal-Full-Report.pdf

40.

Israeli Ministry of Education. (2015). Procedures for research activity in the education system . https://apps.education.gov.il/Mankal/Horaa.aspx?siduri=129&REFF_GUID=%7BC368850E-8304-46F4-83E4-D7A3CF70E3AC%7D

41.

Kowalski

R. M.

Giumetti

G. W.

Schroeder

A. N.

Lattanner

M. R.

(2014). Bullying in the digital age: A critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth. Psychological Bulletin , 140(4), 1073–1137. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035618

42.

Kowalski

R. M.

Limber

S. P.

(2013). Psychological, physical, and academic correlates of cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health , 53, S13–S20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.09.018

43.

Kowalski

R. M.

Limber

S. P.

McCord

(2019). A developmental approach to cyberbullying: Prevalence and protective factors. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 45, 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.02.009

44.

Lenhart

Madden

Smith

Purcell

Zickuhr

Rainie

(2011). Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites . Pew Research Center.

45.

Marcum

C. D.

Higgins

G. E.

Ricketts

M. L.

(2010). Potential factors of online victimization of youth: An examination of adolescent online behaviors utilizing routine activity theory. Deviant Behavior , 31(5), 381–410. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639620903004903

46.

Martínez-Monteagudo

M. C.

Delgado

Díaz-Herrero

Á.

García-Fernández

J. M.

(2020). Relationship between suicidal thinking, anxiety, depression and stress in university students who are victims of cyberbullying. Psychiatry Research , 286, 112856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112856

47.

Navarro

J. N.

Jasinski

J. L.

(2012). Going cyber: Using routine activities theory to predict cyberbullying experiences. Sociological Spectrum , 32(1), 81–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2012.628560

48.

O’Keeffe

G. S.

Clarke-Pearson

(2011). On communications and media: Clinical report-the impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics , 127, 800–804. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054

49.

Olweus

Limber

(2018). Some problems with cyberbullying research. Current Opinion in Psychology , 19, 139–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.04.012

50.

Perret

L. C.

Orri

Boivin

Ouellet

M. I.

Denault

Côté

S. M.

Tremblay

R. E.

Renaud

Turecki

Geoffroy

(2020). Cybervictimization in adolescence and its association with subsequent suicidal ideation/attempt beyond face-to-face victimization: A longitudinal population-based study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry . https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13158

51.

Peter

I. K.

Petermann

(2018). Cyberbullying: A concept analysis of defining attributes and additional influencing factors. Computers in Human Behavior , 86, 350–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.013

52.

Reyns

B. W.

Henson

Fisher

B. S.

(2011). Being pursued online: Applying cyberlifestyle-routine activities theory to cyberstalking victimization. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 38(11), 1149–1169. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854811421448

53.

Reyns

B. W.

Henson

Fisher

B. S.

(2016). Guardians of the cyber galaxy: An empirical and theoretical analysis of the guardianship concept from routine activity theory as it applies to online forms of victimization. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice , 32(2), 148–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986215621378

54.

Schneider

S. K.

Smith

O’Donnell

(2013). Social media and cyberbullying: Implementation of school-based prevention efforts and implications for social media approaches . Education Development Center. http://www.promoteprevent.org/social-media-and-cyberbullying-implementationschool-based-prevention-efforts-and-implications

55.

Smith

P. K.

Mahdavi

Carvalho

Fisher

Russell

Tippett

(2008). Cyberbullying: Its nature and impact in secondary school pupils. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 49(4), 376–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01846.x

56.

Tisak

M. S.

Tisak

Laurene

K. R.

(2012). Children’s judgments of social interactive behaviors with peers: The influence of age and gender. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal , 15(4), 555–570. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-012-9194-2

57.

Tokunaga

R. S.

(2010). Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on CV. Computers in Human Behavior , 26(3), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.014

58.

Torres

C. E.

D’Alessio

S. J.

Stolzenberg

(2020). The effect of social, verbal, physical, and CV on academic performance. Victims & Offenders , 15(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2019.1681571

59.

Vaillancourt

Faris

Mishna

(2017). Cyberbullying in children and youth: Implications for health and clinical practice. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry , 62(6), 368–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743716684791

60.

Vakhitova

Z. I.

Reynald

D. M.

(2014). Australian internet users and guardianship against cyber abuse: An empirical analysis. The International Journal of Cyber Criminology , 8(2), 156–171.

61.

Welsh

Lavoie

(2012). Risky ebusiness: An examination of risk-taking, online disclosiveness, and cyberstalking victimization. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 6(1), article 4. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2012-1-4

62.

Whittaker

Kowalski

(2015). Cyberbullying via social media. Journal of School Violence , 14(1), 11–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2014.949377

63.

Wick

S. E.

Nagoshi

C. T.

Basham

Jordan

Kim

Y. K.

Nguyen

A. P.

Lehmann

(2017). Patterns of cyber harassment and perpetration among college students in the United States: A test of Routine Activities Theory. International Journal of Cyber Criminology , 11(1), 24–39. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.495770

64.

Wicklund

R. A.

(1975). Objective self-awareness. Advances in Experimental Psychology , 9, 233–275.

65.

Willard

N. E.

(2007). Cyberbullying and cyberthreats: Responding to the challenge of online social aggression, threats, and distress . Research Press.

66.

Yar

(2005). The novelty of “cybercrime:” An assessment in light of routine activity theory. European Journal of Criminology , 2(4), 407–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/147737080556056

67.

Ybarra

M. L.

Diener-West

Leaf

P. J.

(2007). Examining the overlap in internet harassment and school bullying: Implications for school intervention. Journal of Adolescent Health , 41(6), 42–50. https://doi-org.ezproxy.aac.ac.il/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.004

68.

Ybarra

M. L.

Mitchell

K. J.

(2004). Online aggressor/targets, aggressors, and targets: A comparison of associated youth characteristics. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines , 45(7), 1308–1316. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00328.x

69.

Zych

Farrington

Ttofi

M. M.

(2019). Bullying and cyberbullying: Protective factors and effective interventions. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 45, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.08.006