A Study on Primary School Students' Being Cyber Bullies and Victims According to Gender, Grade, and Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

One of the most important students' problems is cyber bullying that occurs by using technological devices. Research on cyber bullying is mostly based on the types of technological devices used for cyber bullying and the gender difference. Although these variables come to the forefront in studies, there is less research based on variables, such as socioeconomic status and grades. This study analysed whether the level of being the cyber bully and victim differed in terms of the gender, grade, and socioeconomic status of the primary school students. It consisted of 760 students, attending sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The age of the participants ranged from 11 to 15 years, with a mean of 12.3 years. The results indicated a significant effect on cyber bullying and cyber victim for gender and socio-economic status, and a significant two-way interaction effect on cyber bullying and victim for gender, socio-economic status, grade and socioeconomic status. For cyber bullying and cyber victimization, no significant three-way interactions between demographic variables (gender, grade and socioeconomic status) were found.