Date of Award
8-1-2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Cashel, Mary Louise
Abstract
Cyberbullying is a significant problem throughout the United States. Many risk factors have been identified for cyberbullying victimization, including experiencing traditional bullying victimization, social media usage, gender, and underrepresented racial/ethnic status, although the results are inconclusive. In response to cyberbullying, youth may choose to engage in or avoid help-seeking behaviors. Individual characteristics such as age, gender, frequency of victimization, race and ethnicity, and student perceptions of school staff can influence whether a youth seeks help. School level variables, including anti-bullying policies and teacher awareness and perceptions of cyberbullying may also impact help-seeking behaviors. However, few studies have empirically assessed their effects. Moreover, few recent studies have examined these factors for youth in rural schools. This study concurrently evaluated individual and school level predictors of cyberbullying victimization and help-seeking behaviors among rural youth. The results of this study indicated that experiencing traditional bullying victimization and social media usage were statistically significant predictors of cyberbullying victimization. Surprisingly, results demonstrated that grade, gender, and racial/ethnic status did not significantly predict victimization. Consistent with some previous research, the current study found that identifying as female, in a lower grade, White, and as having high frequency of victimization, predicted overall help-seeking behaviors. Conversely, student perceptions of school personnel and teacher awareness and perceptions of cyberbullying did not significantly predict overall help-seeking behaviors or help-seeking behaviors from school personnel. However, for some schools, anti-bullying policies were significant predictors. Overall, the findings suggest the need for schools to encourage help-seeking behaviors when a cyberbullying event occurs. Implications for prevention and intervention programming are discussed.
Access
This dissertation is Open Access and may be downloaded by anyone.