The Relationship between Parental Monitoring and Cyberbullying Involvement among Beirut Adolescent Students

Abstract

As the internet and social media are continuously evolving with time, so are the risks of using it such as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has the ability to impact a person in numerous adverse manners especially among adolescents. According to Bronfrenbrenner’s Social-Ecological Theory (SET), child’s development is influenced by a system of different relationships. Therefore, the interaction of the child with their parents can influence the child’s interaction in the cyber world. Hence, effective parental monitoring can influence the child’s behavior online.

Most research on cyberbullying was carried in Western countries. Little is known on cyberbullying in Lebanon. Furthermore, there is shortage in literature on the relationship between cyberbullying involvement and parental monitoring that studies the four forms of parental monitoring such as: parental knowledge, adolescent disclosure, parental control, and parental solicitation. The current study will address different demographics of the Beirut population regarding cyberbullying. Furthermore, it will examine the relationship between cyberbullying involvement and parental monitoring. Finally it will examine what are the predictors of cyberbullying involvement.

Our study consisted of 238 participants, 91 male and 147 female. Their ages ranged from 13 to 17 and 11 months with mean age of 15.13, all attending private schools in Beirut and were between grades 8 to 12. Questionnaires were used to collect data.

Results indicated that a high portion of the adolescents were involved in cyberbullying with cyberbully/victims having a higher prevalence ratio than cyberbullies or cyber-victims. Verbal aggression and exclusion were the most common types of cyberbullying and cyber-victimization. Male adolescents were more likely to be cyberbully/victims than female adolescents, while female adolescents were more likely not to be involved in cyberbullying than male adolescents. Cyberbullying was negatively associated with parental control and parental monitoring. While cyber-victimization was negatively associated with parental knowledge, parental control, and parental monitoring. Adolescent’s gender and parental monitoring were both predictors of cyberbullying.