Abstract:
Cyberbullying affects boys and girls of different ages all around the world, since communication among peers has changed, and so have the risks of online communication. Cyberbullying has been defined as ‘an aggressive act or behavior that is carried out using electronic means by a group or an individual repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself ’ (Smith et al., 2008, p. 376). Even if most researchers agree that cyberbullying can be considered as a new type of aggression, made possible by the increasing spread of the Internet and the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) among young people (Slonje, Smith, & Frisén, 2013), assessing the prevalence and nature of cyberbullying is complex, since there is still a lack of consensus regarding how cyberbullying should be defined and measured (Kowalski, Giumetti, Schroeder, & Lattanner, 2014; Olweus, 2013; Smith, del Barrio and Tokunaga, 2013; Tokunaga, 2010; Ybarra, Boyd, Korchmaros, & Oppenheim, 2012). The same applies when we look at possible causes of cyberbullying, better identified as ‘risk and protective factors’. By adopting the ecological system theory, based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1986, 1994), it is possible to divide risk factors associated with bullying and cyberbullying according to one of four levels: individual, interpersonal, social, or community and cultural. The underlying reasoning is that there is no one single cause of cyberbullying; risk factors can have a role and influence and this varies from individual to individual, and from context to context (Baldry, Farrington, & Sorrentino, 2015). Risk factors for cyberbullying therefore can be related to the individual level including age, gender, youngsters’ internet activities, empathy, self-esteem, and to the interpersonal level including the relationship with the parents and parental roles in monitoring, moderating and mediating of internet communication of their children (Mesch, 2009). The aim of the study presented in this chapter is to investigate the relationship between parental online supervision and cyberbullying, controlling for other personal variables such as gender, amount of time using the Internet and willingness to report cyberbullying to an adult.