Prediction of Cyberbullying in Turkish Adolescents: School Alienation, Digital Social Pressure, Cognitive Flexibility, Gender and Time Spent in Cyberspace.

Abstract

Although there has been an increase in studies based on the socioecological theory in recent years examining cyberbullying in both social contexts, such as schools, and individual contexts, certain gaps still exist in the literature. Therefore, the current study aims to examine whether school alienation, digital social pressure, cognitive flexibility, gender, and time spent in cyberspace predict the cyberbullying levels of secondary school students. A sample of 368 volunteer students was selected using the convenience sampling method, and ordinal logistic regression analysis was applied to the data collected through the Cyberbullying Scale, Student Alienation Scale, Digital Social Pressure Scale, and Cognitive Flexibility Scale. As a result, it was determined that school alienation, digital social pressure, gender, and time spent in cyberspace significantly predicted cyberbullying. Based on the findings, it was concluded that a positive school environment is important in preventing cyberbullying and that school psychologists, teachers, school administrators, and families have important responsibilities in developing and implementing effective intervention strategies.