Decreasing Incidents of High School Cyberbullying

With the Internet being an ever-growing part of everyone’s lives, the nature of bullying has evolved. Cyberbullying is a new problem with far reaching implications and is a problem that is growing fast. However, there is a limited amount of research available. Most of the research has been conducted from 2007 until the present with little research available before 2001. The purpose of this study was to decrease the percentage of incidents (students participating and students victimized) of cyberbullying at a public high school in a large school, suburban school district, in the southeastern region of the United States, by implementing various interventions. The sample population was a nonprobability convenience sample. The sample was comprised of 512 students for the pre-survey and 498 for the post-survey, in grades 9-12. A pre-survey was administered at the beginning of the study to determine the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. The interventions occurred over a five-month period and included: advisement lessons, a book display in the media center, an anti-cyberbullying student pledge, informational bulletin board, digital brochures, and an assembly with the district attorney. A post-survey was administered at the end of the five-month period of the study to determine the prevalence of cyberbullying in the sample population. The difference between the pre and post responses was used to determine the effectiveness of the interventions. While there was a decrease in reports of bystander experiences and cyberbullying participation, there was an increase of 1-3% in cyberbullying victimization, specific victimization experiences, and specific perpetration behaviors