Adolescent Cyberbullies’ Attributions: Longitudinal Linkages to Cyberbullying Perpetration

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine cyberbullies’ attributions pertaining to their perpetration of cyberbullying, and how such attributions relate to their cyberbullying behaviors six months later. Participants were 216 adolescents (M = 13.46, SD = 0.62 years; 55% female) from the suburbs of a large Midwestern city in the United States. They were interviewed face-to-face in the fall of 2018 concerning why they acted in negative ways toward peers online or through text messages. They also answered questionnaires regarding how often they perpetrated face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying during the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019. The attributions of revenge, convenience, anger, and anonymity each predicted cyberbullying at the second time point while controlling for face-to-face bullying perpetration. Results from this study provide important information to the literature regarding cyberbullies’ attributions for perpetrating cyberbullying, and how such attributions predict future cyberbullying perpetration. These findings are important for the development of antibullying programs that might aim to change adolescents’ attributions for cyberbullying perpetration to reduce continued engagement in these behaviors.