Cyberbullying and Empathy Among Late-Elementary School Children.

Abstract

There is currently limited research on the relation between forms of empathy and subsequent cyberbullying in middle childhood, a stage in which cyberbullying behaviors are likely to develop. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which affective empathy (experiencing someone else's emotions) and cognitive empathy (perspective-taking) predicted subsequent cyberbullying perpetration in middle childhood. Participants were 105 fourth-and fifth-grade students from two urban elementary schools (M _age = 9.66 years, SD = .68). The sample was 66% African American or Black, 15.2% biracial or multiracial, 7.6% Asian or Asian American, and 6.7% Hispanic or Latinx. The sample was evenly divided by gender (51.4% male). Youth completed surveys in the fall (time 1) and spring (time 2) of one school year. Contrary to hypotheses, affective empathy at time 1 did not uniquely predict any form of bullying perpetration (relational, overt, or cyber) at time 2. Cognitive empathy did not predict overt or relational bullying perpetration at time 2. However, higher cognitive empathy at time 1 predicted lower levels of cyberbullying perpetration at time 2. Results suggest promoting cognitive empathy should be a cyberbullying prevention strategy during middle childhood.