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Online Bullying among High-School Students in India

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Abstract

Six hundred and forty high-school students (Grades 7–12) from a large central government school in South India participated in this exploratory study of online bullying (cyberbullying) in India. Participants responded to the Survey on Social Use of Information and Communications Technology (SSUICT; Bhat and Ragan 2013). Findings indicated that approximately half the participants experienced online bullying in one or more roles described by Bhat et al. Education about Asia, 2(18), 36–39, (2013), with these being: initiating online bully, secondary online bully, bystander, or target of online bullying. Overall, engagement in online bullying tended to increase with grade level, and participation in the role of secondary online bully was the highest of the four roles for Grades 8–12. Male participants reported higher engagement in all four roles than female participants, and this difference was significant for the roles of initiating online bully, secondary online bully, and target of online bullying. Significant correlations were found between the four roles of online bullying. Recommendations for addressing the issue of online bullying in the Indian context are provided, along with limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Counseling and Higher Education, The Patton College of Education, Ohio University, 432F McCracken Hall, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Christine Suniti Bhat

  2. Department of Educational Studies, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Moira A. Ragan

  3. Psychology and Counseling, Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, TX, USA

    Priscilla R. Selvaraj

  4. Alexander Elementary School, Albany, OH, USA

    Benjamin J. Shultz

Authors
  1. Christine Suniti Bhat
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  2. Moira A. Ragan
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  3. Priscilla R. Selvaraj
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  4. Benjamin J. Shultz
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Correspondence to Christine Suniti Bhat.

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Bhat, C.S., Ragan, M.A., Selvaraj, P.R. et al. Online Bullying among High-School Students in India. Int J Adv Counselling 39, 112–124 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-017-9286-y

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