Browsing by Author "Piitz, Jessica A."

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    Investigating Protective Factors for Victims of Cyberbullying
    (2012-09-28) Piitz, Jessica A.; Schwartz, Kelly
    This study is the first to investigate personal, psychological, and school-based outcomes associated with cyberbullying victimization. Furthermore, this study investigated social and personal factors (i.e., perceived social support and developmental assets) that moderate the relationship between victimization and negative outcomes (i.e., self-esteem, life satisfaction, school connectedness). The sample consisted of 165 Canadian adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization was 28.5% (n = 47), with males reporting higher rates of victimization than females. Results suggest that victimization was significantly negatively associated with all outcomes under investigation. Although perceived social support did not moderate the relationship between victimization and negative outcomes, developmental assets were found to moderate the relationship between victimization and self-esteem. Findings suggest that online aggression continues to be a prominent issue in today’s society and the assessment of and prevention and intervention initiatives for cyberbullying need to consider factors that protect adolescents.