Prevalence and Determinants of Cyberbullying Perpetration among Adolescents in Rural and Urban Secondary Schools in Osun State South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Cyberbullying is typically defined as aggression that is intentionally and repeatedly carried out in an electronic context against a person  who cannot easily defend himself or herself. This study compared the prevalence and determinants of cyberbullying perpetration using the theory of  planned behaviour among in-school adolescents in rural and urban secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study design was employed. Using a multistage sampling technique, a total of 722 and 711 respondents were  recruited respectively across rural and urban secondary schools in Osun State. Data collection was by facilitated self-administered questionnaire while  data analysis was with IBM SPSS version 20. Determinants of cyberbullying perpetration were assessed using binary logistic regression. A p-value of <  0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The preceeding three-month prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration was significantly higher in urban 220 (30.9%) than rural secondary schools 165 (22.9%), (p = 0.001). In terms of theory of planned behaviour, predictors of cyberbullying perpetration were similar in both locations:  positive/favourable attitude towards cyberbullying perpetration [rural—OR = 1.645, 95%CI = 1.050-2.577, p = 0.030; urban—OR = 1.681, 95%CI =  1.107-2.552, p=0.015], having a high intention to perpetrate cyberbullying [rural—OR = 2.101, 95%CI = 1.336-3.305, p = 0.001; urban—OR = 1.819, 95%CI = 1.184-2.796, p = 0.006].

Conclusion: These findings indicate that engaging the adolescents in behavioural change communication interventions will foster negative attitude  towards cyberbullying perpetration and promote positive coping mechanisms different from retaliation.