Bullying 2.0: Cyberbullying among Students with Disabilities

Cyberbullying and Developmental Disability

This study looked at the nature of cyberbullying in a sample of 114 students aged 12-19 with developmental disabilities; the researchers tentatively conclude that although cyberbullying is prevalent, “in general, students with developmental disabilities have a somewhat lower probability to become victimized and/or bully via the internet and cellphone than their peers” (150).  Like most studies of cyberbullying in mainstream populations, the results of this study “clearly indicate that there is a relationship between cyberbullying and emotional distress and psychological problems” (150), but not clearly to any greater or lesser extent than in non-disabled populations; this study does not make a comparison. Given the various educational challenges faced by disabled students, it would be helpful for counselors, teachers and parents to know if and how developmentally disabled students’ emotional responses to cyberbullying were any different from those of non-disabled students, so that attempts to address the issue might be tailored appropriately to meet the special needs of these students.  

Some interesting observations were made linking increased incidence of cyberbullying with higher IQ (149) and length of time spent online each day (150); also, in this sample, there was a strong and intriguing trend of “bully/victims,” students who are both perpetrators and victims of bullying (149). Yet the researchers were unable to make any major statement about cyberbullying in special education settings. Perhaps a comparative study of other special education settings would reveal greater patterns that could be useful for helping students to prevent cyberbullying in ways specific to special education.

I wonder if students with developmental disabilities in mainstream settings are more likely to be victims of cyberbullying than non-disabled students or than disabled students in special education settings?

Reference:

Didden, R. et al. (2009). Cyberbullying among students with intellectual and
developmental disability in special education settings. In Developmental Neurorehabilitation, June 2009; 12(3): pp. 146–15. Retrieved 3-3-11 at:

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17518420902971356