Cyberbullying: Where Are We Now?

The current publication provides a state-of-the-art review of key concerns in cyberbullying research; focusing on fundamental issues such as the conceptualisation of cyberbullying (or cyber aggression), cyberbullying as experienced by different age groups, correlates of cyberbullying involvement, cross-national research, and coping with cyberbullying.

To begin, Corcoran, Mc Guckin and Prentice examine the definition of cyberbullying and its conceptualisation as a ‘cyber version’ of school/traditional bullying. Corcoran and colleagues argue that in light of a number of factors-such as recent Irish data, the unique nature of cyberspace, and the restrictive characteristics of school bullying-consideration should be given to cyber aggression as a more appropriate concept for examination. Taking a similar focus, Randa, Nobles, and Reyns examine the relationship between cyberbullying and traditional bullying amongst adolescents.

Specifically, Randa et al. seek to advance the understanding of whether cyberbullying is an extension of school bullying, or a distinct, stand-alone phenomenon. Highlighting the complexity of the relationship between the forms of aggression, this paper indicates an overlap between the phenomena, as well as indicating a uniqueness of the cyberbullying phenomenon.