Brendan R. Roth’s research while affiliated with Gettysburg College and other places

Cyberbullying theory and research puts much emphasis on the role that anonymity perceptions has in the prediction of online aggression. However, some individuals choose to cyberbully others when identifying information (e.g., their name) is clearly visible to the victim and the online community at large. Two correlational studies with US adults examined one possible reason for this effect: dispositional fear of retaliation (DFoR) – a personality variable characterized by the anxiety related to other's retaliatory behavior. Participants completed measures of perceived anonymity, positive cyberbullying attitudes, cyberbullying perpetration, and DFoR. Results showed DFoR moderated the (a) direct relationship between anonymity perceptions and cyberbullying attitudes and behavior and the (b) mediating role of cyberbullying attitudes in the link between anonymity and cyberbullying perpetration.

Traditional bullying perpetration explicates the importance of a power differential between the bully and the victim—predominantly physical and/or social status. The application of power from traditional to cyberbullying is unclear. The current research utilized a longitudinal study to examine the relationships between four different derivations of power—belief in the irrelevance of muscularity for online bullying (BIMOB), social capital, harmful computer skills, and popularity motivation—and cyberbullying attitudes and perpetration. Participants (185 US emerging adults) completed self‐report assessments of the aforementioned power constructs, cyberbullying attitudes, and cyberbullying behavior twice—6 months apart. Results showed only Wave 1 BIMOB predicted cyberbullying attitudes to yield subsequent cyberbullying perpetration.

The psychological consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic are just now starting to be understood; however, the behavioral consequences are less understood. Thus, the current report examined whether cyberbullying processes and frequency are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared US adult participant data from six months before the start of the pandemic (July 2019; n = 181) to data collected in the middle of the pandemic (May, 2020; n = 173) to determine if there are any significant differences in anonymity perceptions, belief in the irrelevance of muscularity for online bullying (BIMOB), cyberbullying attitudes, and cyberbullying perpetration. Results showed that there were significant increases in BIMOB, cyberbullying attitudes, and cyberbullying perpetration during the pandemic, but no significant change for anonymity perceptions. Further, the relationships between several variables germane to cyberbullying perpetration prediction were stronger during the pandemic than before. Overall, these findings add to our understanding of the behavioral impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on US adults.

The world is currently grappling with the medical, psychological, economic, and behavioral consequences of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The existing research has rightly been focused on the medical contributions – treatment, symptoms, prevalence, etc. – which are paramount. A paucity of research has tested the psychological and behavioral consequences of COVID-19. In two cross-sectional studies of US adults, we posited that personal (e.g., being diagnosed with COVID-19) and proximal (e.g., knowing people with COVID-19) experiences with COVID-19 would be related to cyberbullying perpetration due to an increase in stress. Using path modeling, results showed that (a) personal and proximal COVID-19 experiences positively correlated with cyberbullying (Studies 1 and 2) and (b) personal COVID-19 experiences were indirectly related to cyberbullying through stress, but not proximal experiences (Study 2).