Development of Scales to Measure the Level of Aggression in Saudi Cyber Sphere

Abstract

Cyber aggression is a new term in our digital era, and it includes diverse online aggressive acts. Cyber aggression can be found in many forms; however, the main focus in this study is cyberbullying and cyberstalking acts. Previous studies focused on understanding the causes and effects of physical and digital aggression in different settings and have shown strong relationships between cyber aggression and the physiological and physical influences on both offenders and victims. Nevertheless, the literature shows a lack of research that could measure the level of acceptance and tolerance of these destructive cyber acts. This study focused on developing measurable scales with reliable items to determine the level of acceptability and tolerability of cyber aggression acts. The researcher used factors discovered in the literature to create the scales’ items. The developed scales were analyzed and tested to increase reliability as indicated by the Cronbach’s Alpha value. The scales were designed to measure how acceptable and tolerable is cyberbullying and cyberstalking in Saudi Arabia. The results show a strong tolerance level of cyber aggression activities, on the other hand, high acceptance was absent. The study added new scales to the literature, and they could be valuable measurement tools for researchers who focus on cyber aggression, cyber security, cyber psychology, and online aggressive behaviors.