‘Nobody wants the parents involved’: Social norms in parent and adolescent responses to cyberbullying

ABSTRACT

Parent involvement is considered essential to preventing cyberbullying, yet little is known about how parents respond to cyberbullying when it occurs. With this in mind, this study uses data from focus groups with parents (n = 48) to examine their responses to hypothetical cyberbullying scenarios in which their child is presented as a victim, aggressor, or bystander. We investigate how parents’ responses conform to, deviate from, or complicate normative recommendations and advice from researchers and advocacy organizations. In addition, we conducted interviews with adolescents (n = 17) to see how their responses to cyberbullying converge with or contradict parents’ reactions. Results suggest that while parents are concerned about online aggression and are familiar with parenting norms and expectations around cyberbullying, social context and relationships complicate their responses. Children, however, view cyberbullying as normal and believe that parents should not intervene. Our findings suggest a need for improved communication with parents around boundary conditions and preferred responses to cyberbullying as well as a need for continued conversation around rapidly evolving norms for parenting and digital technology. 

KEYWORDS:

• Cyberbullying
• parenting
• social norms
• adolescents
• digital media

Acknowledgement

The authors thank the following members of the research team for their assistance with recruitment and data collection: Mallory Bolenbaugh and Brianna Ward, University of Iowa; Catherine Babcanec, Ashley Hernandez, and Marizen Ramirez, University of Minnesota; Jessica Foley and Leandra Parris, Illinois State University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center from grant number R49 CE002108-05 of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.