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The measurement of cyberbullying has been marked by several inconsistencies that lead to difficulties in cross-study comparisons of the frequency of occurrence and the impact of cyberbullying. Consequently, the first aim of this study was to develop a measure of experience with and impact of cyberbullying victimization in social networking sites in adolescents. The second aim was to investigate the psychometric properties of a purpose-built measure (Social Networking Experiences Questionnaire [SNEQ]). Exploratory factor analysis on 253 adolescent social networking sites users produced a six-factor model of impact. However, one factor was removed because of low internal consistency. Cronbach's alpha was higher than .76 for the victimization and remaining five impact subscales. Furthermore, correlation coefficients for the Victimization scale and related dimensions showed good construct validity. The utility of the SNEQ for victim support personnel, research, and cyberbullying education/prevention programs is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facebook is an environment in which adolescents can experiment with self-presentation. Unfortunately, Facebook can also be an environment in which cyberbullying occurs. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether specific self-presentation behaviours in Facebook were associated with cyberbullying victimisation for adolescents. The contents of 147 adolescent (15–24 years) Facebook profile pages were recorded and used to predict cyberbullying victimisation. Coded contents included the presence or absence of Facebook profile features (e.g., relationship status) and the specific content of certain features (e.g., type and valence of wall posts). Participants completed measures of cyberbullying victimisation and traditional bullying victimisation and perpetration. More than three out of four participants reported experiencing at least one victimisation experience on Facebook in the preceding 6 months. A series of Facebook features and experiences of traditional bullying victimisation/perpetration were found to be associated with an increased risk of cyberbullying victimisation. Number of Facebook friends and traditional bullying victimisation were also significant predictors of cyberbullying victimisation. These results support the hypothesis that self-presentation on Facebook can increase the likelihood of eliciting negative attention from potential perpetrators. This has important implications for the development of cyberbullying prevention and education programs that teach adolescents about measures they may take to decrease their risk for cyberbullying victimisation within social networking sites like Facebook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We provide the views of adolescent victims of cyberbullying in social networking sites. [•] Victims’ definition of cyberbullying is different and more complex than presented in previous research. [•] Victim impact was the most important criterion. No participant referenced power imbalance. [•] Emotional, social and behavioural impacts were the most reported by victims. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cyberbullying victimization is associated with a range of emotional and behavioral outcomes for adolescents. However, previous research has shown that this type of victimization does not affect all individuals negatively. The factors that account for individual differences in reactions to the same online experiences are not well understood. Using a qualitative inductive approach, a set of strong themes relating to factors that either increased the severity of impact of cyberbullying victimization or buffered victims against the impact emerged from interviews with 25 adolescents aged 15-24 years. Themes related to publicity, anonymity of perpetrators, features of the medium, presence of bystanders, and individual level factors were identified as potential influences upon impact severity. The implications of these results for further research and for school/university cyberbullying prevention programs for victims, perpetrators, and bystanders are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]