{"id":9601,"date":"2017-07-19T16:46:26","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T16:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=9601"},"modified":"2017-07-19T16:46:26","modified_gmt":"2017-07-19T16:46:26","slug":"race-cyberbullying-and-intimate-partner-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/race-cyberbullying-and-intimate-partner-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Race, cyberbullying and intimate partner violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roderick S. Graham<\/a>, Old Dominion University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past two decades, cyberbullying has become a major focus for parents, educators and researchers. Stopbullying.gov<\/a> lists several effects of cyberbullying, including depression, anxiety and decreased academic achievement.<\/p>\n

Judging from popular culture, the narratives surrounding cyberbullying tend to have at least one of two themes. One, cyberbullying is a mob-like phenomenon: Television shows such as \u201cAmerican Crime\u201d<\/a> depict a group of teens preying on a vulnerable individual by using social media and text messaging. Second, the face associated with cyberbullying is often a white one. Both in the aforementioned \u201cAmerican Crime,\u201d for example, and in the television movie \u201cCyberbu\/\/y<\/a>,\u201d the victim is white.<\/p>\n

Without discounting youth bullied by groups of their peers or young white men and women who have been cyberbullied, there\u2019s a missing piece of this equation. As a researcher of technology usage and racial inequality, I am interested in the racial differences in cyberbullying.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n In Cyberbu\/\/y, 17-year-old Taylor Hillridge is pushed to the point of attempting suicide when she\u2019s harassed by her classmates online.<\/span>
\n ABC Family<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why study racial differences?<\/h2>\n

Studies from the Pew Research Center have shown that African-American youth own smartphones<\/a> at higher rates and use them more frequently<\/a> than youth of other backgrounds. My own research has shown that young African-Americans have more positive views toward technology<\/a> than other segments of the population.<\/p>\n

Their frequency of use and willingness to engage with new technologies suggest that black youth may frequently find themselves in contexts that can lead to cyberbullying \u2013 both as victims and perpetrators.<\/p>\n

Cyberbullying as intimate partner violence<\/h2>\n

One of those contexts is in digital communication within a current or past relationship. Although much media attention has been paid to the mob characteristics of cyberbullying, there\u2019s ample opportunity<\/a> for cyberbullying in one-to-one situations. In these scenarios, cyberbullying is a form of intimate partner violence, which the CDC describes<\/a> as physical, sexual or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. <\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n Online harassment is likely to come from people close to the victim.<\/span>
\n Samuel Borges Photography\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cyberbullying and race: The data<\/h2>\n

I used survey data collected from September 2014 to March 2015<\/a> by the Pew Research Center<\/a> to explore connections between race and cyberbullying.<\/p>\n

I focused on the 361 teens in that study who replied \u201cyes\u201d to the question: \u201cHave you ever dated, hooked up with or otherwise had a romantic relationship with another person?\u201d<\/p>\n

These teens were then asked a series of yes or no questions about their experiences with cellphones in intimate relationships. Nine questions were about their partners attempting to control or harass them through cellphones. These questions measure cyberbullying victimization. Six questions were about how the respondents themselves attempted to control or harass their partners. These questions measured offensive cyberbullying.<\/p>\n

My analysis showed that African-American youth as a group responded \u201cyes\u201d to questions about cyberbullying victimization and perpetration more than other groups. <\/p>\n