Longitudinal Relations Between Cyber Dating Aggression and Cyberbullying in Adolescence

Abstract

Very little research has examined the longitudinal relations between cyber dating aggression and cyberbullying during adolescence, which is important for informing prevention and intervention. This study fills a gap in the literature by examining the longitudinal relations between cyberbullying and cyber dating aggression. Data were collected from 185 ninth-grade students in the southeastern United States who endorsed being in a dating relationship within the past 30 days and participated in two waves of surveys three months apart. The sample was 50.3% female, 91.1% Black, and the mean age was 14.32 years old (SD = 0.56). Cyberbullying uniquely predicted subsequent increases in cyber dating aggression. Similarly, cyber dating aggression predicted subsequent increases in cyberbullying. In-person aggression (peer-targeted and dating) did not predict their online counterparts (cyberbullying and cyber dating aggression). Overall, these results indicate that aggression perpetrated online may generalize from one relational context (i.e., peer relationship) to another relationship context (i.e., dating relationship), such that efforts targeted at preventing online aggression in both relationship contexts may be most effective in preventing future online aggression.