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Bullying that specifically targets youth and young adults based on their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression has been a problem for decades. The increased utilization of technology among youth (and, well, just about everyone) has resulted in bullying behaviors moving online. As a result, cyberbullying perpetrated against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth…
This 8-page research brief provides educators, parents, and other youth serving adults information about the nature and extent of digital dating abuse among adolescents and how to best address it.
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Research shows that roughly 10-25% of American teens have participated in “sexting,” the sharing of sexually-explicit or sexually-suggestive images. When minors share nude images of themselves with others in the United States, they are distributing child pornography. If these images are received from others and stored on personal…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin Digital dating abuse is a term used to describe physical, sexual, or psychological/emotional violence that occurs between romantic partners through the use of texting, social media, and related online mediums. Survey data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 2,218 American middle and high school students (12–17…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Sexting is the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images or video, usually via mobile devices. Despite widespread public concern about these behaviors as they occur among adolescents, including potentially serious legal consequences, relatively little research has been done to estimate the frequency of sexting…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin This regularly updated fact sheet provides a brief overview of the main elements of state sexting laws in the United States. More detailed information can be found here: https://cyberbullying.org/sexting-laws If you are aware of updates to the sexting laws in your state that are not included, please let…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin This Research Summary summarizes the current state of cyberbullying bills and laws across the United States. More detailed information can be found here: https://cyberbullying.org/bullying-laws Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. (2018). State Cyberbullying Laws: A Brief Review of State Cyberbullying Laws and Policies. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved [insert date], from…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin While previous studies have identified that school bullying and cyberbullying victimization among adolescents is associated with suicidal thoughts and attempts, no work has measured the severity of bullying incidents and their impact on the youth at school within that context. As such, a survey was distributed to a…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Sextortion is the threatened dissemination of explicit, intimate, or embarrassing images of a sexual nature without consent, usually for the purpose of procuring additional images, sexual acts, money, or something else. Despite increased public interest in this behavior, it has yet to be empirically examined among adolescents. The…
Most generally, the term bullying is equated to the concept of harassment, which is a form of unprovoked aggression often directed repeatedly toward another individual or group of individuals.[1] However, bullying tends to become more insidious as it continues over time and may be better equated to violence rather than harassment. Accordingly, Erling Roland states…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin UPDATED for 2020! This detailed guide is a nine-page summary – filled with as much useful information as possible – to equip educators, parents, and other youth-serving adults to spot cyberbullying, respond to it appropriately and meaningfully, and to prevent its future occurrence among those they care for.…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin In an effort to better prevent and respond to bullying and cyberbullying, schools are recognizing a need to focus on positive youth development. One often-neglected developmental construct in this rubric is resilience, which can help students successfully respond to the variety of challenges they face. Enhancing this internal…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Purpose: Despite increased media and scholarly attention to digital forms of aggression directed toward adolescents by their peers (e.g., cyberbullying), very little research has explored digital aggression directed toward oneself. “Digital self-harm” is the anonymous online posting, sending, or otherwise sharing of hurtful content about oneself. The current…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja We’ve written a new bullying prevention book and it is now available! “Bullying Today: Bullet Points and Best Practices” was written for educators looking for concrete, comprehensive, and yet concise information to tackle bullying on campus and online. Before bullying surfaces in your school, you need to be…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja While decades of criminological research have returned mixed results when it comes to deterrence theory, deterrence-informed policies continue to proliferate unabated. Specific to bullying among adolescents, many U.S. states have recently passed new laws – or updated old ones – increasing potential punishment for youth who abuse others.…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Despite a significant amount of attention by both the academic community and society at large, there continues to exist much confusion about both the conceptual and operational definitions of cyberbullying (and by implication, bullying in general). The trouble with this lack of clarity is that it leads to…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin This Fact Sheet provides a summary of important court cases and pending legislation that can help school districts evaluate and improve their current cyberbullying policies. Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J.W. (2015). Cyberbullying legislation and case law: Implications for school policy and practice. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved [insert date], from…
“What is Cyberbullying?” is one of the most frequent questions we are asked because many know what it is when it happens, but have trouble wrapping succinct descriptive words around it. Formally, we define it as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices” (from Bullying Beyond…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin The #1 cyberbullying prevention book just got better! Cyberbullying occurs when three components intersect: teens, technology, and trouble. This perfect storm of elements manifests as harassment, humiliation, and hate that can follow a child everywhere. Drawing on the authors’ own extensive research, this groundbreaking eye-opening resource incorporates the…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Many well-meaning researchers and experts have written a number of books for adults that detail the nature and extent of cyberbullying, and offer suggestions for parents, educators, and other adults to effectively respond to the problem. In fact, Dr. Patchin and Dr. Hinduja have written three books just…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Whether you teach in the classroom, lead a youth group, or work with teens in another setting, Words Wound can help you guide your young people as they learn about cyberbullying, consider their own attitudes and actions (and those of others), and think about ways to delete cyberbullying…
By Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin This fact sheet provides information for educators and students to keep in mind when connecting via social media. Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. (2013). Connecting with Students Online: Issues to Consider When Educators “Friend” Students. Cyberbullying Research Center. Download PDF
By Russell A. Sabella, Justin W. Patchin, and Sameer Hinduja Bullying has long been a concern of youth advocates (e.g., educators, counselors, researchers, policy makers). Recently, cyberbullying (bullying perpetrated through online technology) has dominated the headlines as a major current-day adolescent challenge. This article reviews available empirical research to examine the accuracy of commonly-perpetuated claims…
By Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja Research into the causes and consequences of cyberbullying among adolescents has exploded in the past 5 years [1]. However, much of the literature is largely descriptive in nature and/or suffers from methodological limitations associated with accessing and studying young people who are engaged in constantly changing high-tech behaviors.…