Cyber-bullying: An investigation of the psychological profile of university student participants

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: cyber-bullying cyber-victimization university students personality profile psychological symptoms online aggression The present study investigated the psychological profile of 430 Greek university students who reported cyber-bullying/victimization experiences. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire, measuring cyber-bullying, cyber-victimization, Internet frequency and use, personality characteristics, and psychological symptoms. Results indicated that 58.4% of the sample had participated in a cyber-bullying incident assuming any role. Cyber bully/victims, the most common participant role, endorsed more psychological symptoms, more psychopathic traits, and were high sensation seekers, compared to the rest of the groups, whereas cyber-victims scored higher on empathy. Cyber-bullying was predicted by callous/unemotional and impulsive/irre-sponsible traits, depression, Internet use, as well as lack of social skills. The latter four variables also predicted cyber-victimization along with gender. Findings are discussed in terms of prevention and intervention strategies. Cyber-bullying (CB) is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or an individual using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time, against a victim who cannot easily defend him/herself (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009). It can vary from straightforward assaults, to more subtle damage of the victims' social relations, while, similarly to traditional bullying, participants can assume the roles of bullies, victims and bully/victims (Fegenbush & Olivier, 2009). To date, there is no clear consensus regarding the forms and types of CB, although various categorizations have been proposed, according, for example, to the nature of the action (e.g.search on CB has primarily focused on adolescents, while there are only a few recent studies with college and university students (e.g., Schenk, Fremouw, & Keelan, 2013). It is assumed that CB incidents decrease during the transition from high school to college, but recent evidence suggests that the percentage of CB participation in college students varies between 10 and 35%, while in some cases this percentage can be even higher compared to adolescents (Annenberg Public Policy Center, as cited in Lawler & Molluzzo, 2011). Furthermore, Kraft and Wang (2010) found that being a victim of CB in high school was a significant risk factor for continuing to be cyber-bullied in college. Irrespective of the age of the participants, this new form of aggression can have a significant impact on students' academic commitment, psy-chosocial functioning and interpersonal relationships. Research has indicated that young adults are at risk of exhibiting Internet related problems, since they make the heaviest, and the most unsupervised, …