Predictors of Cyberbullying Behavior among Junior High School Students

Abstract

This predictive study aimed to examine the factors influencing cyberbullying behavior in junior high school students. The sample comprised 116 students from Surin Municipality, selected through multi-stage sampling, with one class per year level at each year level. Eligible participants were then sampled using simple random sampling. Data collection took place in November 2022. The research instruments included 1) a cyberbullying experience questionnaire, 2) an online violence behavior model questionnaire, 3) a parenting questionnaire, 4) a peer violence influence questionnaire, and 5) a cyberbullying behavior questionnaire. The questionnaires exhibited alpha Cronbach confidence values of 0.83, 0.93, 0.79, 0.84, and 0.73, respectively. The analysis involved descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression analysis.

The findings indicated that cyberbullying behavior among junior high school students was relatively low (mean = 27.14, SD = 2.55). Peer violence influence and an independent parenting style with clear boundaries emerged as significant predictors of cyberbullying behavior among junior high school students, explaining 37.6% of the variance (R² = 0.376, F(1, 113) = 11.076, p <0.001). Suggestion: future studies should develop interventions to prevent and address cyberbullying behavior in junior high school students. Targeting aspects such as spending time with friends and encouraging parents to adopt independent parenting styles with clear boundaries may contribute to the prevention of cyberbullying behavior.