- Ellen M Selkie: Fellow, Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of Washington Department of Pediatrics.
- Rajitha Kota: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
- Megan Moreno: Seattle Children's Research Institute.
PROBLEM: Cyberbullying is common among adolescents, and emerging studies also describe this phenomenon in college students. Less is known about specific cyberbullying behaviors and roles in cyberbullying incidents experienced by college females.
METHODS: 249 female students from 4 colleges completed online surveys assessing involvement in 11 specific cyberbullying behaviors in any of the following roles: bully, victim, or witness.
RESULTS: Nearly half (n = 110, 44.2%) of participants had experienced cyberbullying in college as a bully, victim, witness, or combination of the three. The most commonly witnessed behaviors included "posting degrading comments or hate speech" and "posting explicit or unwanted pictures." Over one third of the witnesses were classified as bystanders who purely observed cyberbullying without participating.
CONCLUSIONS: Cyberbullying is common among college women, with more people witnessing behaviors than participating. Given the large proportion of witnesses, mobilizing bystanders is a potential target for cyberbullying in the college population.