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ERIC Number: EJ1043379
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1055-3096
EISSN: N/A
Cyberbullying Victimization among College Students: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis
Rivituso, Jack
Journal of Information Systems Education, v25 n1 p71-75 Spr 2014
This interpretive phenomenological analysis explored the lived experiences and the psychological impact of victimization from cyberbullying among college students. Two theories, Bandura's Theory of Triadic Reciprocal Determinism and the General Strain Theory, guided the primary research questions used for this exploration. Each of these frameworks posits that human behavior is influenced by an individual's confrontation with various stimuli. Confrontation with negative stimuli, such as that involving cyber abuse, often results in a various psychological affects among victims that may be detrimental to their overall well-being. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 4 community college students who reported abuse to school administration at the college selected as the site for this study. Six themes were generated from the analysis of data: 1) repeated instances leading to feelings of vulnerability and fear; 2) distrust of technology and mistrust of people; 3) the value of friends in college and their impact on victim self-esteem; 4) self-control in response to lack of control over cyberbullying instances; 5) feelings of stress, depression, and embarrassment; 6) frustration leading to self-blame. Findings from this exploratory study may be used by college administrators, college counseling and medical staff, and faculty members to increase their awareness of cyber abuse and the detrimental psychological impact it has on student victims. Furthermore these findings support the creation of sensitivity training relating to cyber abuse, with required and recurrent participation among all elements of the higher educational community.
Journal of Information Systems Education. e-mail: editor@jise.org; Web site: http://www.jise.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A