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In a series of four studies, the aim of the current research project was to examine cyberbullying victimisation in adolecents in social networking sites (SNS). The first study investigated adolescent victims’ definition of cyberbullying, the specific types of cyberbullying experienced in SNS and the associated impact . Results showed that participants’ definition of cyberbullying was more complex than had been reported in previously published research. The most referenced criterion was impact on victim. It was also found that 68% of victims reported experiencing a combined emotional, social and behavioural impact for each cyberbullying experience and 12% reported no impact at all. The second study, using a qualitative inductive approach, found a set of strong themes relating to factors that either increased the severity of impact of cyberbullying victimisation or buffered victims against the impact. 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 aim of the third study was to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of a measure of exposure to and impact of cyberbullying victimisation in SNS in adolescents, whilst taking into consideration previous measurement limitations. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the development and validation of the Social Networking Experiences Questionnaire (SNEQ). Preliminary psychometric analyses showed that the SNEQ was a valid and reliable measurement tool and has multiple uses in research, education and clinical settings. The aim of the fourth study was to explore whether specific online self-presentation behaviours in SNS increase the likelihood of cyberbullying victimisation for adolescents. This study focused on whether information in SNS profiles contributed to risk of being cyberbullied. Using a comprehensive coding scheme, the contents of adolescents’ Facebook pages were numerically recorded and used to predict cyberbullying victimisation. A number of self-presentation behaviours that predicted victimisation were found. It was concluded that the findings need to be integrated into preventative education programs to assist adolescents in decreasing their risk for cyberbullying victimisation.

To date, the measurement of cyberbullying has been approached inconsistently throughout the research literature. In addition to the myriad of approaches to its measurement, there remains no agreement on a universal definition of cyberbullying. This creates further challenges for its measurement for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is difficult to measure a phenomenon that cannot be easily defined. Secondly, no widely accepted definition within the research literature leads to the development of measures used only in their respective researchers’ studies, and finally meaningful cross-study comparisons are problematic. Furthermore, accurately measuring cyberbullying is not only important for empirical research, but also for those working with real life manifestations of this issue across various clinical and educational settings appears to be a number of specific problems regarding the measurement of cyberbullying. These include inconsistencies in the measurement of prevalence rates which arise from problems with the construction of questions and problems with the response options provided in cyberbullying measures. Another feature of the measurement of cyberbullying that has varied across published studies is the duration of reference time periods over which participants are asked to recall incidents of cyberbullying. Furthermore, throughout the research on cyberbullying there is a lack of reported psychometric data on respective measures and related constructs. Lastly, differences remain in the specific cyberbullying behaviours or environments that are measured and the overall purpose of the cyberbullying measurement tool. Despite the fact that many of these concerns have been outlined in the traditional bullying measurement research, similar problems remain evident in the cyberbullying measurement research. This book chapter will review each of the above problem areas with a focus on how these issues have developed, affected the measurement of both cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation, and on alternative strategies to the measurement of cyberbullying.