Cross-cultural similarities and differences in the theoretical predictors of cyberbullying perpetration: Results from a seven-country study
Corresponding Author
Christopher P. Barlett
Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Correspondence Christopher P. Barlett, Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, 300N Washington St, Gettysburg, PA 17325.
Email: cbarlett@gettysburg.edu
Search for more papers by this authorLuke W. Seyfert
Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Search for more papers by this authorMatthew M. Simmers
Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Search for more papers by this authorVivian Hsueh Hua Chen
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorJaqueline Gomes Cavalcanti
Department of Psychology, Centro Universitário Uniesp, Cabedelo, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorBarbara Krahé
Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorKanae Suzuki
Department of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorWayne A. Warburton
Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorRandy Yee Man Wong
Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Search for more papers by this authorCarlos Eduardo Pimentel
Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorMarika Skowronski
Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Christopher P. Barlett
Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Correspondence Christopher P. Barlett, Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, 300N Washington St, Gettysburg, PA 17325.
Email: cbarlett@gettysburg.edu
Search for more papers by this authorLuke W. Seyfert
Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Search for more papers by this authorMatthew M. Simmers
Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Search for more papers by this authorVivian Hsueh Hua Chen
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Search for more papers by this authorJaqueline Gomes Cavalcanti
Department of Psychology, Centro Universitário Uniesp, Cabedelo, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorBarbara Krahé
Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorKanae Suzuki
Department of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorWayne A. Warburton
Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorRandy Yee Man Wong
Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Search for more papers by this authorCarlos Eduardo Pimentel
Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorMarika Skowronski
Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The Barlett Gentile cyberbullying model (BGCM) posits that correlated anonymity perceptions and the belief in the irrelevance of muscularity for online bullying (BIMOB) predict positive cyberbullying attitudes to predict subsequent cyberbullying perpetration. Much research has shown the BGCM to be the only published theory that differentiates traditional and cyberbullying while validly predicting cyberbullying. So far, however, the cross-cultural ubiquity has gone understudied. Thus, 1,592 adult participants across seven countries (USA, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, and Singapore) completed measures germane to the BGCM. Supporting the BGCM, the variables were significantly correlated for the entire sample, participants from independent cultures, and participants from interdependent cultures. However, the relationship between BIMOB and positive cyberbullying attitudes as well as the relationship between positive cyberbullying attitudes and cyberbullying perpetration were stronger for independent cultures. These results suggest that the BGCM postulates are mostly universal, but several relations appear to be culturally different. Theoretical implications are discussed.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Research data are not shared outside of members of the research team.
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