Research we’ve published on various online harms, as well as strategies and solutions to promote healthy online behaviors.
Bullying and Delinquency: The Impact of Anger and Frustration
Few studies have explored whether individuals who are bullied at school or online are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Even less is known about whether negative emotions (i.e., anger or frustration)—as a result of being victimized—mediate the relationships between being bullied or cyberbullied and delinquency (as predicted by Agnew’s general strain theory). The […]
Law Enforcement Perceptions of Cyberbullying: Evolving Perspectives
Cyberbullying – using technology to intentionally and repeatedly engage in bullying behaviors – has gained considerable public attention over the last decade. Parents and educators regularly instruct students about appropriate online behaviors and threaten consequences for misbehaviors. The role and responsibility of law enforcement officers in preventing and responding to cyberbullying incidents remains uncertain. While […]
It is Time to Teach Safe Sexting
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 devices, individuals are in possession of child […]
Digital Dating Abuse Among a National Sample of U.S. Youth
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 years old) who have been in a […]
The Nature and Extent of Sexting Among Middle and High School Students
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 among middle and high school students. The […]
Connecting Adolescent Suicide to the Severity of Bullying and Cyberbullying
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 representative sample of U.S. youth between the […]
Sextortion Among Adolescents: Results From a National Survey of U.S. Youth
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 current study fills this gap by exploring […]
Cultivating Youth Resilience to Prevent Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization
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 competency can complement the ever-present efforts of […]
Digital Self-Harm Among Adolescents
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 study examined the extent of digital self-harm […]
Deterring Teen Bullying: Assessing the Impact of Perceived Punishment From Police, Schools, and Parents
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. Police are becoming involved in bullying incidents […]
