Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2014, School Psychology

This research project, which included a random sample of Ohio school districts, investigated how the quality of the school districts' cyberbullying policies impacted administrators' levels of awareness and confidence in implementing the policies. A survey was created to assess cyberbullying policy awareness and perceived confidence of implementation, and the results were then compared to a dichotomous quality rating of the policies reviewed. A correlation was found between the awareness and the confidence scales, indicating that as policy awareness increases, confidence in policy implementation also increases. Further analyses resulted in non-statistically significant findings regarding the level to which the quality of the policy impacted the level of awareness or confidence of implementation. Qualitative findings from open-ended survey questions provided valuable information about the areas of strengths and weaknesses of current cyberbullying policies, as reported by the middle school principals. Limitations and implications for future research were discussed.

Committee: Ray Witte PhD (Committee Chair); Jason Abbitt PhD (Committee Member); Susan Mosley-Howard PhD (Committee Member); James Shiveley PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2011, Psychology/Developmental

Electronic bullying, commonly referred to as “cyberbullying,” is a type of bullying that uses electronic devices such as cell phones and the internet to harass, intimidate, and bully others. Electronic bullying has become a more prevalent issue and public health problem in our society. Electronic bullying expands upon traditional bullying territory and provides more routes and access for bullies to aggress upon their victims – often anonymously. This study aimed at finding how familiarity with a bully's identity related to consequences of bullying found in previous research such as anxiety, fear, depression, and feelings of control (the focus variables). It also aimed at exploring children's beliefs about prevention techniques to stop electronic bullying. Participants were one-hundred and thirty-eight 5th through 9th graders in Ohio. Anxiety, depression, and fear were predicted by bullying experience. Those who had been electronically bullied rated themselves higher on these variables. A significant relationship was not found between familiarity and the focus variables. Prevention techniques were explored with participants who had been bullied indicating what actions they used to stop electronic bullying in the past, which of those they believed were successful, and which techniques they would consider using in the future. Implications, sex and grade differences, and future directions are discussed.

Committee: Marie Tisak PhD (Advisor); Carolyn Tompsett PhD (Committee Member); John Tisak PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Developmental Psychology; Psychology