Face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying in adolescents: Transcontextual effects and role overlap

Objective: While seemingly utilizing different means and methods, traditional bullying and cyberbullying may be linked together in intriguing ways. The present study assessed whether the association between face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying in adolescents is explained in terms of trans-contextual experiences and role overlap among bullies and victims. Method: A two-stage cluster sampling approach was used, and structured questionnaires were administered to a representative sample of 1004 randomly selected secondary school students (M age = 14.88 years, SD = 1.02). Results: Cluster analysis indicated that participants formed two distinct groups in relation to traditional bullying behavior and victimization. The analysis showed that trans-contextual experiences in bullying aggression and victimization were observed, whereby traditional bullies tended to engage in cyberbullying more often than non-bullies, and victims of traditional bullying experienced cyberbullying victimization more often than non-victims. Accordingly, in support of the role overlap hypothesis, bullying victims engaged in cyberbullying more often than non-victims. Conclusions: Bullying can be seen as a trans-contextual phenomenon, involving both online and offline episodes. Accordingly, traditional bullying victims may change roles and become cyberbullying perpetrators, compared to non-victims of traditional bullying. Preventive interventions should focus on the ways bullying and cyberbullying relate to each other, and tackle trans-contextual and role overlap effects among perpetrators and victims.