Problem behaviours, traditional bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents: longitudinal analyses

Abstract

Problem Behaviour Theory suggests that young people's problem behaviours tend to cluster. This study examined the relationship between traditional bullying, cyberbullying and engagement in problem behaviours using longitudinal data from approximately 1500 students. Levels of traditional victimisation and perpetration at the beginning of secondary school (grade 8, age 12) predicted levels of engagement in problem behaviours at the end of grade 9 (age 14). Levels of victimisation and perpetration were found to moderate each other's associations with engagement in problem behaviours. Cyberbullying did not represent an independent risk factor over and above levels of traditional victimisation and perpetration for higher levels of engagement in problem behaviours. The findings suggest that to reduce the clustering of cyberbullying behaviours with other problem behaviours, it may be necessary to focus interventions on traditional bullying, specifically direct bullying.

Keywords:

• bullying
• cyberbullying
• problem behaviours

Acknowledgements

We thank Melanie Epstein and Stacey Waters for their contributions to the Supportive Schools Project (SSP), and the SSP study schools and their staff, parents and students. The SSP Project and this study were funded by the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway) and the research supported by the Child Health Promotion Research Centre (CHPRC) at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. This research was funded through a Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation Scholarship and supported by the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. Special thanks are given to all CRN partners for the contribution to the development of this work.