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The Association Between Electronic Bullying andSchool Absenteeism Among High School Studentsin the United StatesErin GrinshteynUniversity of San Francisco, egrinshteyn@usfca.edu

Y. Tony YangGeorge Mason University, ytyang@gmu.edu

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Recommended CitationGrinshteyn, Erin and Yang, Y. Tony, "The Association Between Electronic Bullying and School Absenteeism Among High SchoolStudents in the United States" (2017). Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications. 119.https://repository.usfca.edu/nursing_fac/119

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TheAssociationbetweenElectronicBullyingandSchoolAbsenteeismamongHighSchoolStudentsintheUnitedStates

Erin Grinshteyn, Ph.D., M.S. and Y. Tony Yang, Sc.D, LL.M, M.P.H.

Erin Grinshteyn, Ph.D., M.S.

Assistant Professor

Population Health Sciences Department

School of Nursing and Health Professions

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA 94177

Email: egrinshteyn@usfca.edu

Y. Tony Yang Sc.D, LL.M, M.P.H.

Associate Professor

College of Health and Human Services

4400 University Drive

Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

Phone: 703-993-1901

Email: ytyang@gmu.edu

ThispaperwasacceptedforpublicationintheJournalofSchoolHealth.Published:February2017.

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ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:Thisstudyexaminestherelationshipbetweenexposuretoelectronic

bullyingandabsenteeismasaresultofbeingafraid.

METHODS:Thismultivariate,multinomialregressionanalysisofthe2013YouthRisk

BehaviorSurveydataassessedtheassociationbetweenexperiencingelectronicbullyingin

thepastyearandhowoftenstudentswereabsentinthelastmonthduetofeelingunsafe

at/intransittoschool.Themodelcontrolledforotherpredictorsofschoolabsence

includingdemographics,physical/behavioralhealth,andriskfactors.Missingdatawere

multiplyimputed.

RESULTS:Electronicbullyingwassignificantlyassociatedwithabsences.Controllingfor

modelcovariates,therelativeriskofmissingonedayofschoolwas1.77timeshigher,the

relativeriskofmissingtwotothreedaysofschoolpermonthincreasedbyafactorof2.08,

andtherelativeriskofmissingfourormoredaysofschoolpermonthincreasedbyafactor

of1.77forthosewhoexperiencedelectronicbullyinginthepastyearcomparedwiththose

whowerenotelectronicallybullied.

CONCLUSIONS:Electronicbullying’sassociationwithabsenteeismplacesitamongalready

recognizednegativeinfluencessuchasdepressionandbingedrinking,necessitating

schoolstoimplementpoliciestomediatetheresultingharmfuleffects.

Keywords:Bullying;Publichealth;child&adolescenthealth;violence

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Lapsesinschoolattendanceareassociatedwithanumberofnegativeconsequences

foradolescentsaswellasthecommunitiesinwhichtheylive.Missingschoolisassociated

withpoorerschoolperformance,greaterparticipationinrisk-takingbehaviors,andgreater

riskfordroppingoutofschoolalltogether.1,2,3,4,5,6Truancyisalsoassociatedwith

increasedneighborhoodcrime.7

Previousresearchhasidentifiedanumberofdemographiccharacteristics

associatedwithschoolabsenteeism.Asageincreases,truancyalsoincreases.8Beingfroma

lower-incomefamilyisassociatedwithgreaternumbersofschooldaysmissed.5,9LGBTQ

youtharealsoatgreaterriskofmissingschoolasaresultoffear.10

Anumberofphysicalandbehavioralhealthconditionshavebeenidentifiedas

correlatesofincreasedschoolabsencesforchildrenandadolescents.Bothchronic

conditionssuchasasthmaandinfectiousconditionssuchasinfluenzeareassociatedwith

missedschooldays.11Theoddsofmissingschoolamongchildrenwhowereawakenedin

thenightbyasthmaincreasedwiththenumbersofnightsthattheywereawakened.12

Researchshowsthatstudentswhoareoverweightandobese9,13alsosufferfrommore

schooldaysmissed.Dentalpainledstudentswithpoororalhealthtobealmostthreetimes

morelikelytohaveschoolabsencesthanthosewhodidnothavepoororalhealth.14Mild

andseveredepression6aswellasADHDwithcomorbiddepression,anxiety,andphobias15

haveallbeenlinkedtoabsenteeism.However,theserelationshipscouldsufferfrom

endogeneity(endogenous variables are correlated with the error term often as a result of

uncontrolled confounding or reverse causality between the independent variable of interest and

dependent variable);thus,theactualeffectandthedirectionofeffectmaybeunclear.16

4

Risktakingbehaviorsareassociatedwithnegativeattendanceoutcomesfor

students.Oneanalysisfoundthatinnercity,lowincomehighschoolstudentsinLos

Angeleswhousedalcoholormarijuanaduringthepastmonthweresignificantlymore

likelytomissschool.6

Parent-,school-,andneighborhood-levelfactorsinfluencetheamountofschool

missed.Whencomparedtochildrenofauthoritativeparents,childrenofparentswhowere

neglectfulorindulgentwereassociatedwithmoreschooltruancy.6Researchshowsmore

truancyamongstudentswhoperceivedtheirclasses,teachers,andotherstudentsasbeing

lessfocusedoncollegepreparation.6Studentswhoperceivedtheirschoolenvironmentas

chaoticorunsafeandthosewhoperceivedtheirschooltobedangerouswerealsomoreat

riskformissingschooldays.17,18Perceivedneighborhooddisorder(asrepresentedbygang

presence)andperceivedneighborhooddangerarealsoassociatedwithschooltruancy.19,17

Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexaminetheassociationbetweenbeingthevictimof

electronicbullyingandmissingdaysofschool.Arecentmeta-analysisidentifiedanumber

ofnegativeoutcomesassociatedwithbeingthevictimofelectronicbullyingincludingthose

relatedtopsychologicalhealth,physicalhealth,behavior,andsocialfunctioningwithstress

andsuicidalideationastheoutcomeswiththestrongestassociationsamongadolescents.20

Whileexposuretoviolence21andtraditional,face-to-facebullying19,22havebeen

correlatedwithschoolabsenteeism,theeffectofelectronicbullyinghasnotbeenexamined

separatelyforitsassociationwithschoolattendance.However,electronicbullyingisan

increasinglycommonexperienceamongadolescentsthathasbeenassociatedwithother

negativeoutcomes.23Itisimportanttounderstandthepotentialassociationofelectronic

bullyingwithschoolattendanceifitistobeprevented.

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Thisanalysisspecificallyexaminestheassociationbetweenexperiencingelectronic

bullyingandmissingdaysofschoolamonghighschoolagedadolescents.Whileitisknown

thatthereareahostofnegativeconsequencesthatresultfromelectronicbullying,itis

unclearwhetherthereisanassociationwithschoolabsenteeism.Whiletraditionalbullying

usuallyoccurswithintheconfinesoftheschoolgrounds,electronicbullying,asaresultof

thetechnologyusedtoperpetratetheseactions,oftenoccursoutsideofschoolandis

particularlymalignantduetotheoftenanonymousandfarreachingpotentialgiventheuse

ofelectronicmediatoperpetratetheseoffenses.Thus,whiletheassociationofface-to-face

bullyingatschoolandschoolabsenceislogicallyintuitive,itisimportanttounderstand

whetherthisassociationisstillsignificantwhentheperpetrationlikelyhappensoutsideof

school.

METHODS

Thissecondarydataanalysiswasperformedusingthe2013YouthRiskBehavior

Survey(YRBS).TheYRBSwasstartedin1990asasurveytomonitorhealthriskbehaviors

amongyouthintheU.S.24Thesurveymeasuresbehaviorsassociatedwithinjuries,

violence,sexualbehavior,andalcoholanddruguse.In2013,aquestionrelatedto

electronicbullyingwasadded.

Participants

Thetotal2013YRBSsampleof13,583included13,554highschoolstudentsinthe

UnitedStateswhoansweredthequestionusedasthedependentvariable(schooldays

missed)thus,only29respondentshadmissingdataforthedependentvariable.The

sampleiscomprisedof9ththrough12thgradepublicandprivateschoolstudents.

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Procedure

TheYRBS,anationallyrepresentativesurveyofUShighschoolstudents,is

conductedbytheCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention(CDC)usingapaper-and-

pencilquestionnaire.Athree-stageclustersampledesignisusedinanefforttoproducea

sampleofhighschoolstudentsingrades9-12thatisrepresentative.24Weightingfactors

wereappliedtoeachrecord,whichallowsforadjustmentfornonresponse;blackand

Hispanicstudentswereoversampled.24Schoolresponserateswere77%andstudent

responserateswere88%.Thus,theoverallresponserate(themultiplicationofthetwo

rates)was66%.Thesampleofstudentsincludedinthisanalysiswerethoseinthe2013

datasetwhoansweredthequestionthatisusedasthedependentvariable,whichassesses

schoolabsenteeism(N=13,554,itemresponserate:99.8%ofthetotalsample).Additional

methodologicaldetailshavebeenpreviouslypublished.25

Instruments

TheYRBSsurveyinstrumentwasusedtoobtainresponsestoallquestionsincluded

inthisanalysis.Thedependentvariableforthisresearchasked,“Duringthepast30days,

onhowmanydaysdidyounotgotoschoolbecauseyoufeltyouwouldbeunsafeatschool

oronyourwaytoorfromschool?”Responsecategorieswere:zerodays,oneday,twoor

threedays,fourorfivedays,sixormoredays.Duetothedistributionofthesedata,those

whoanswered“fourorfivedays”werecombinedwiththosewhoresponded“sixormore

days”duetoonlyhavinglessthanonepercentofthesamplewhoansweredthattheyhad

missed“fourorfivedays”ofschoolduetofeelingunsafe.

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Theregressorofinterest,electronicbullying,wasdefinedusingaquestionthat

asked,“Duringthepast12months,haveyoueverbeenelectronicallybullied?”Response

categorieswereyesorno.

Anumberofcontrolvariableswereincludedbasedontheconceptualmodel,which

wasdevelopedfromanextensiveliteraturereview(seeAppendix).Demographic

characteristicsincludedgradecohortmeasuredasgrade9,10,11,12,andother,maleor

femalesex,racemeasuredaswhite,AmericanIndian/Alaskannative,Asian,black,

Hawaiian/Pacificislander,multipleracesHispanic,andmultipleracesnon-Hispanic,and

Hispanicethnicity.Physicalandbehavioralhealthoutcomesincludedanasthmadiagnosis,

feelingsadorhopelessalmosteverydayforatleasttwoweeksinthepreviousyear,a

seriousconsiderationofsuicideinthepastyear,andbeingoverweightorobeseas

calculatedbyusing85thand95thpercentilecutoffsforBMIwithinageandsexcategories.

Riskfactorsincludedmarijuanauseinthepast30daysandbingedrinkinginthepast30

days.Exposuretoviolencewasassessedusingacreatedvariableassessingpersonal

experiencewithintimatepartnerviolence,physicalfighting,orforcedsex.Whetherornot

anadolescenthadbeenthreatenedorinjuredwithaweapononschoolpropertyinthepast

yearwasalsoincludedasacontrolvariable.

DataAnalysis

Thedependentvariableisafourcategoryvariableusingthefollowingcategoriesof

daysofschoolmissedinthepreviousmonthduetofeelingunsafe:zerodays,oneday,two

orthreedays,orfourormoredays.Themainanalysisisamultivariatemultinomial

regressionmodelbecausethedependentvariable,afourcategoryresponsevariable,failed

thetestofproportionalhazardsrequiredtouseanorderedlogitmodel.Complexsurvey

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weightswereusedtoassurearepresentativesample.Multipleimputation(N=5iterations)

usingchainedequations(MICE),whichperformswellwhendataaremissingarbitrarily,26

wasusedtoaddressmissingdataintheindependentvariablesaslistwisedeletionmay

providebiasedestimatesasaresultofnon-response.Thedependentvariablewasnot

imputed.Missingdataareassumedtobemissingatrandom(MAR).Allindependent

variableshadlessthantenpercentofobservationsmissingdata.StataSEversion13.1was

usedforallanalyses.27IRBapprovalwasobtainedfromtheUniversityofNevadaReno.

RESULTS

DescriptiveCharacteristics(seeTable1)

Thevastmajorityofthesample(N=13,554)didnotmissschoolintheprevious

monthduetofeelingunsafe(93%).Fourpercentmissedonedayinthepastmonthdueto

feelingunsafe,while2%missedtwotothreedaysand1.65%missedfourofmoredaysdue

tofeelingunsafe.Fourteenpercentofstudentsexperiencedelectronicbullyinginthe

previousyear.Thesamplewasdistributedprettyevenlyacrossthefourgradeswithless

thanafifthofonepercentcategorizedas“other”grade.Almost49%ofthesamplewere

female,47%werewhite,26%wereblack,13%wereLatino,14%weremorethanonerace

Hispanic,withmuchsmallernumbersineachoftheotherracialcategories.Alarge

percentagehadexperiencedviolentvictimization(42%)and7%hadbeenthreatenedwith

violence.

[INSERTTABLE1HERE]

ElectronicBullying(seeTable2)

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Electronicbullyingwassignificantlyassociatedwithmissingdaysofschoolwhenall

threeoutcomes(oneday,twotothreedays,fourormoredays)arecomparedwithmissing

zerodaysofschoolduetofeelingunsafe,withthebiggesteffectseeninmissingtwoto

threedaysofschool(seeTable2).Therelativeriskofmissingonedayofschoolpermonth

duetofeelingunsafewas1.77timeshigherforthosewhoexperiencedelectronicbullying

inthepastyearthanthosewhodidnotaftercontrollingforahostofothercovariates(CI:

1.40-2.23,p<0.0001).Therelativeriskofmissingtwotothreedaysofschoolpermonthfor

thosewhoexperiencedelectronicbullyinginthepastyearcomparedwiththosewhohad

notisexpectedtoincreasebyafactorof2.08holdingallothervariablesinthemodel

constant(CI:1.40-3.11,p=.001).Finally,therelativeriskofmissingfourormoredaysof

schoolpermonthforthosewhoexperiencedelectronicbullyinginthepastyearcompared

withthosewhohadnotisexpectedtoincreasebyafactorof1.77aftercontrollingforall

othermodelcovariates(CI:1.14-2.75,p=.012).

[INSERTTABLETWOHERE]

OtherSignificantCovariates(SeeTable2)

Whilenottheprimaryfocusofthispaper,therewereotherinteresting,significant

relationshipsinthismodel.Exposuretoviolencewasassociatedwithsignificantlymore

daysofschoolmissed.Therelativeriskofmissingonedayofschoolpermonthforthose

whoexperiencedviolencecomparedwiththosewhohadnotincreasesbyafactorof1.67

holdingallothervariablesinthemodelconstant(CI:1.28-2.19,p=.001).Therelativeriskof

missingtwotothreedaysofschoolpermonthforthosewhoexperiencedviolence

comparedwiththosewhohadnotincreasesbyafactorof1.5holdingallothercovariates

constantthoughthiswasonlymarginallysignificant(CI:0.99-2.26,p=.054).Therelative

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riskofmissingfourormoredaysofschoolpermonthforthosewhoexperiencedviolence

comparedwiththosewhohadnotincreasesbyafactorof2.64holdingallothervariables

inthemodelconstant(CI:1.42-4.92,p=.003).

Beingthreatenedorinjuredwithaweaponwashighlysignificantforthenumberof

daysofschoolmissed,evenaftercontrollingforallothermodelcovariatesincludingother

exposurestoviolence.Whilethisresultistobeexpected,themagnitudeoftheeffectis

largeenoughtonoteinthispaper.Therelativeriskofmissingonedayofschoolpermonth

forthosewhowerethreatenedorinjuredwithaweaponcomparedwiththosewhowere

notincreasesbyafactorof2.93holdingallothervariablesinthemodelconstant(CI:2.11-

4.07,p<.0001).Therelativeriskofmissingtwotothreedaysofschoolpermonthforthose

whowerethreatenedorinjuredwithaweaponatschoolcomparedwiththosewhowere

notincreasesbyafactorof8.89holdingallothercovariatesconstant,thoughthiswasonly

marginallysignificant(CI:0.99-2.26,p=.054).Therelativeriskofmissingfourormoredays

ofschoolpermonthforthosewhowerethreatenedorinjuredwithaweaponatschoolin

thepreviousyearcomparedwiththosewhowerenotincreasesbyafactorof10.20holding

allothervariablesinthemodelconstant(CI:6.38-16.31,p<.0001).

Feelingsadorhopelessalmosteverydayforatleasttwoweeksinthepreviousyear

wassignificantlyassociatedwithschoolabsencesduetofeelingunsafe.Therelativeriskof

missingonedayofschoolpermonthforthosewhoexperiencedsadnesscomparedwith

thosewhodidnotincreasesbyafactorof2.36holdingallothervariablesinthemodel

constant(CI:1.62-3.43,p<.0001).Therelativeriskofmissingtwotothreedaysincreases

byafactorof3.08(CI:2.19-4.35,p<.0001)andtherelativeriskofmissingfourormore

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daysofschoolpermonthincreasesbyafactorof1.77(CI:1.19-2.64,p=.006)holdingall

othervariablesinthemodelconstant.

Bingedrinkingwassignificantlyassociatedschoolabsences.Therelativeriskof

missingfourormoredaysofschoolpermonthforthosewhoparticipatedinbingedrinking

comparedwiththosewhodidnotincreasesbyafactorof2.68holdingallothervariablesin

themodelconstant(CI:1.27-5.65,p=.016).

DISCUSSION

Schoolabsencesasaresultofbeingfearfulintransittooratschoolaresignificantly

associatedwithelectronicbullying.Itispossiblethatstudentswhohavebeen

electronicallybulliedfearfacingtheirperpetratororotherstudents,whichleadstofear-

basedabsences.Theliteratureontheassociationbetweenface-to-facebullyingandschool

absencesismixed;someshowanassociation,someshowaweakassociation,andsome

shownoassociationbetweenface-to-facebullyingandschoolabsences.28Thiscouldbe

duetothefactthattherehavebeenmanymorestudiesonface-to-facebullying,manyof

whichmeasurebullyingandschoolabsencesdifferently.Thus,itisnotclearwhether

electronicbullyinghasthesameassociationwithschoolabsencesasface-to-facebullying.

PreviousresearchonschoolabsencesdidnotassesswhystudentsweremissingschoolFor

example,previousstudiesthatfoundthatadolescentswithchronicconditionsmissed

schoolmorebutdidnotisolatewhetherornotthiswasaresultofillnessor,perhaps,being

afraidofvictimizationatschoolforbeingdifferent.However,thisanalysiswasableto

isolatetruancyasaresultofbeingfearful.Inaddition,thisresearchexamineselectronic

bullyingspecifically,whichcouldhaveadifferentassociationthanface-to-facebullyinghas

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onschoolabsences,thefocusofthemajorityofpreviousresearch.However,thisanalysis

onlyassessedtheassociationofelectronicbullyingwithabsencesduetofeelingunsafe.Itis

likelythatmanyadolescentswhomissschoolafterelectronicbullyingdidsoastheresult

ofembarrassmentandnotfeelingunsafe.Thus,theseresultsarelikelyanunderestimation

ofschoolabsencesassociatedwithelectronicbullyingastheyonlycapturethoserelatedto

feelingunsafe.

Studentswhoexperiencefearasaresultofelectronicbullyingmissmoreschool

days,whichinturnopensthemuptofurtherpotentialharmintheformofpoor

performanceorincreasedopportunitytoengageinnegativebehaviors.Whilethebiggest

effectofelectronicbullyingcanbeseeninmissingtwotothreedaysofschoolpermonth,

therearealsosignificantincreasesinthelikelihoodofmissingonedayorfourormore

days.Whilethesesoundlikeasmallnumberofabsenceswhenviewedonthemonthly-

level,missingtwotothreedaysofschoolpermonthequatestomissingroughly10-15%of

schooldayspermonth.Theseassociationsaresignificantforallincreasesinschooldays

missedcomparedwithadolescentswhohadnotbeenelectronicallybullied,andare

significantevenaftercontrollingforahostofothercovariatesthatmayalsoleadtomissing

school.Still,electronicbullyingremainsasignificantcorrelateformissingone,twoto

three,andfourormoredaysofschoolpermonthduetofeelingunsafe.Inlightofthis

evidence,electronicbullyingposesasgraveaninfluenceonstudentabsenteeismasalready

widelyrecognizedproblemslikebingedrinkinganddepression.Inaddition,exposureto

violenceandbeingthreatenedorinjuredwithaweaponalsohavelargeandsignificant

associationswithmissingschoolduetofearevenaftercontrollingforallothermodel

covariates.Whiletheprimaryintentofthispaperistoassesstheassociationofelectronic

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bullyingwithtruancy,itisimportanttonotethatvariablesassessingmultipleformsof

violencearealsosignificant.Justasschoolshaveallocatedsignificantresourcesto

combatingtheseproblems,itappearsinlightofthisstudy,schoolsneedtodevelopequally

responsiveprogramstofacethechallengeselectronicbullyingpresents.

Limitations

Thisresearchhaslimitations.First,omittedvariablebiascouldhaveskewedthe

resultstosomeextent.Whiletheliteraturereviewandconceptualmodelidentifyan

enormousnumberofvariablesthatwouldideallybeincludedintheanalysis,thevariables

usedherearelimitedbecauseofavailabledata.Whilethemodeldoesincludeextensive

controlvariables,anumberoffactorssuchasneighborhood-levelpredictorsoffearsuchas

gangpresenceandphysicaldisorderarenotincluded.Itispossiblethat,whileother

variables related to events that would make an adolescent feel unsafe were controlled for

including exposure to violence and being threatened or injured with a weapon, some of the

absences related to feeling unsafe were due to another cause that was not included in this model.

Furthermore,thesedatawereanalyzedascross-sectionaldata.Thus,onlyassociations

betweenvariablescanbeshown.Finally,onlyabsencesrelatedtofeelingunsafewere

measured.Electronicbullyingislikelyalsoassociatedwithabsencesdueto

embarrassment,whichwouldnotbecapturedinthesedata.

Conclusions

Thisanalysisshowsthatschoolabsencesasaresultofbeingfearfulatschoolorin

transittoschoolaresignificantlyassociatedwithelectronicbullying.Muchelectronic

bullyingoccursoutsideofschoolwhileadolescentsareinotherlocationsmakingitmore

difficulttoaddresswithinschools;however,thisvictimizationthatoccursbeyondthe

14

confinesoftheschoolboundarieshasimplicationsforschoolattendanceand,thus,mustbe

addressedwithinschoolsettings.

IMPLICATIONSFORSCHOOLHEALTH

Thisworkhasimplicationsforpolicyapproachesandfutureresearch.Becausethe

influenceelectronicbullyinghasonabsenteeismplacesitamongalreadyrecognized

factorslikedepressionandbingedrinkingforwhichschoolshavedevotedresourcesto

developprogramsandpolicies,schoolpoliciesshouldalsofocusspecificallyonaddressing

electronicbullying.Researchhaspreviouslycalledforschoolstodevelopplansthat

specificallyaddressthistypeofbullying.29AccordingtoWillard(2007),planstoaddress

electronicbullyingmustsupportreporting,educatingbothteachersandstudents,and

takingactionagainstthosecommittingsuchoffenses.Inaddition,thereisaneedfor

regularevaluationandmonitoringofthepracticessetinplace.29However,asMasiello

(2014)states,theapproachtopreventingbullyingissimilartothehealthcaresystemin

theUS:fragmented.TheUShasnotaddressedbullyingwithacomprehensivepublichealth

approach30andtheadditionalchallengesassociatedwithelectronicbullyingfurther

complicatethisfragmentation.

Giventheweightoftheassociationbetweenelectronicbullyingandabsenteeism,

electronicbullyingcannotmerelybeseenasbullyinginanotherform.Thenatureofthe

relationshipbetweenvictimandbullydemandsspecialattentiontomediatetheharm,

whichrunscountertomanyschools’approachestotheproblem.Manyschool-based

programsseemtosimplyaddelectronicbullyingontotraditionalbullyinginterventions;

however,itisclearthatthereneedtobekeydistinctionsbetweentheseprogramssimply

duetothedifferingnatureoftheoffenses.Anonymityandtheabilitytobullyfromafar

15

makeselectronicbullyingeasier,coupledwiththeabilitytodisseminateelectronicbullying

behaviormorewidely,makingitfarmorepernicious.Programsinschoolsneedtobe

developedandtestedspecificallytoaddressthistypeofbehavior.Someresearchershave

calledonschoolstogobeyondinterventionsandchangetheircultureasawholetobecome

anenvironmentthatdoesnottolerateanyformofaggressivebehavior.31Concrete,

empiricallybasedstrategiestoachieveculturechangeinschoolshavebeendevelopedand

shouldbeimplementedinanefforttopreventaclimatethatenablesthesebehaviors.32In

addition,thereareimplicationsforparents.Researchshowsthatlowparentalmonitoring

issignificantlyrelatedtoadolescentaggressivebehaviorandfighting,33whichrelatesnot

justtoelectronicbullyingbutalsotheothervariablesrelatedtoexposuretoviolenceand

beingthreatenedorinjuredwithaweapon,allofwhichhadlarge,significanteffectson

absences.Whileschoolshavearesponsibilitytomonitorthistypeofbehavior,thefactthat

electronicbullyingoverwhelminglyoccursoutsideofschoolmeansthatparentsalsohave

someresponsibilityinmonitoringtheonlinebehaviorofunderageadolescentsifelectronic

bullyingistobeprevented.Somehavecalledforcommunityengagementtoprevent

bullying,whichcanutilizecommunityresourcesandcreateamulti-levelstrategy

throughoutallsectorstofurtherreinforcepreventionefforts.34

Futureresearchshouldplacemoreemphasisonworkthatseekstomeasure

neighborhood-levelfactorsinordertocreateafullermodelabletomeasuremultiplelevels

ofinfluenceincludingindividual,family,school,andareafactors.WhiletheYRBSsurvey

questionaskedifstudents’absenceswereduetofeelingunsafeatschoolorontheirwayto

orfromschool,littleisknownaboutthephysicalandsocialstructuresthatmayshape

adolescents’perceptionsofsafety.Asnotedinthelimitationssection,variablessuchas

16

areagangpenetrationareimportantpredictorsoffearandcouldbeimportantpredictors

offear-basedabsences.Bygainingmoreinsightintowhatshapesstudents’perceptionsof

safety,amoreaccuratemeasureofelectronicbullying’simpactonthatperceptioncanbe

determined.Futureresearchshouldaddressallformsofviolenceandschoolabsenteeism

sinceallthreevariablesthataddressedviolenceweresignificantandhadsomeofthe

largesteffectsizesinthisanalysis.Violentvictimizationandviolentthreatsareimportant

predictorsofschoolabsencesandfutureresearchshouldaddressmethodsofprevention

andinterventionforthoseexperiencingviolenceofallforms.Inaddition,futureresearch

couldexaminethesequestionsovertimeusinglongitudinaldatathatcouldestablish

whetherornotatemporalrelationshipexistsbetweentheonsetofelectronicbullyingand

subsequentschoolabsences.Finally,researchmustcontinuetoevaluateelectronicbullying

preventionprogramstounderstandwhatworks.Forexample,acomparativestudyofthe

effectivenessofschoolpoliciesorprogramsthatemploydifferentiatedapproachesto

electronicbullyingfromtraditionalbullyingwouldhelpidentifywhatfactorsuniqueto

eachareofgreatestimportancetoaddressinordertohaveaneffectiveprogram.Arecent

analysisfoundthatcompliancewithanti-bullyinglegislationwasassociatedwithlower

ratesofelectronicbullying.35However,manylawssimplyexpandexistinganti-bullying

definitions.Futureworkshouldnotjustaddontoexistingbullyingresearchbutshouldbe

developedspecificallyforthecomplexchallengesofaddressingelectronicbullying.

Electronicbullyingisuniqueinboththemethodbywhichthevictimizationoccurs,the

anonymitybywhichitcanbeperpetrated,andthescopeofwidespreadvictimization.

Theseuniqueaspectsmustberesearchedtoaddresstheproblemthroughappropriately

developedpoliciesandprograms.

17

HumanSubjectsApprovalStatement

ThisresearchreceivedapprovalfromtheUniversityofNevadaRenoInstitutional

ReviewBoard.

18

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22

Table1.Samplecharacteristicsforallvariablesincludedintheseanalyses

(N=13,554).a

Variable Proportion (SE)

Dependent Variable

Days of School Missed per Month due to Feeling Unsafe

Zero Days 0.93 (0.01)

One Day 0.04 (0.00)

Two-Three Days 0.02 (0.00)

Four or More Days 0.01 (0.00)

Covariate of Interest

Electronically Bullied [Past Year] 0.15 (0.01)

Other Independent Variables

Grade

Grade 9 0.27 (0.01)

Grade 10 0.26 (0.01)

Grade 11 0.24 (0.00)

Grade 12 0.23 (0.01)

Grade Other 0.001 (0.00)

Female Sex 0.50 (0.01)

Race

White 0.54 (0.03)

Asian 0.03 (0.01)

23

Black 0.14 (0.02)

American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.01 (0.00)

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 0.01 (0.00)

Multiple Hispanic 0.10 (0.01)

Multiple Non-Hispanic 0.04 (0.00)

Hispanic Ethnicity 0.10 (0.02)

Exposure to Violence [Past Year] 0.40 (0.01)

Threatened [Past Year] 0.07 (0.00)

Overweight or Obese 0.30 (0.01)

Asthma 0.22 (0.01)

Felt Sad or Hopeless at Least Two Weeks [Past Year] 0.30 (0.01)

Considered Suicide Seriously [Past Year] 0.17 (0.01)

Marijuana Use [Past Month] 0.24 (0.01)

Binge Drinking [Past Month] 0.06 (0.00)

aEstimatespresentedareweighted,imputedestimatesasabaselinecomparisontothemultivariatemodel,whichalsopresentsweighted,imputedestimates.

24

Table 2. Relative risk ratio of all model covariates on likelihood of missing days of school per

month due to feeling unsafe (N=13,554).a

Predictor One Day of School

Missed per Month

(Unadjusted rate =

0.037)

Two-Three Days of

School Missed per

Month

(Unadjusted rate =

0.019)

Four or More Days of

School Missed per

Month

(Unadjusted rate =

0.014)

RRR SE p-value RRR SE p-value RRR SE p-value

Electronically Bullied [Past

Year]

1.77 0.20 <.0001 2.08 0.41 .001 1.77 0.38 .01

Grade (Referent: Grade 9)

Grade 10 1.21 .23 .33 1.00 0.29 .99 0.97 0.26 .92

Grade 11 0.72 0.15 .12 1.15 0.27 .55 1.56 0.37 .08

Grade 12 0.61 0.12 .02 1.03 0.19 .86 1.30 0.38 .37

Grade Other 0.05 0.06 .01 0.00 0.00 <.0001 1.15 0.72 .82

Female Sex 0.60 0.07 <.0001 0.51 0.08 <.0001 1.32 0.25 .14

Race (Referent: White)

Asian 0.74 0.26 .40 0.93 0.63 .92 3.02 1.41 .02

Black 1.12 0.20 .52 1.47 0.39 .15 2.27 0.71 .01

American Indian /

Alaskan Native

3.10 1.25 .008 4.09 1.57 .001 2.56 1.62 .15

Native Hawaiian /

Other Pacific Islander

0.82 0.50 .75 2.22 1.43 .22 2.38 1.53 .19

Multiple Hispanic 1.65 0.34 .02 1.81 0.51 .04 2.20 0.54 .002

Multiple Non-Hispanic 0.92 0.24 .74 1.22 0.52 .65 2.22 1.12 .12

25

Hispanic Ethnicity 1.30 0.29 .25 1.34 0.32 .22 1.62 0.51 .14

Exposure to Violence [Past

Year]

1.68 0.21 .001 1.50 0.30 .05 2.64 0.80 .003

Threatened [Past Year] 2.93 0.48 <.0001 8.88 1.88 <.0001 10.20 2.37 <.0001

Overweight or Obese 0.84 0.15 .34 1.17 0.22 .42 1.22 0.26 .36

Asthma 1.21 0.17 .19 1.09 0.21 .66 1.34 0.30 .22

Felt Sad or Hopeless at Least

Two Weeks [Past Year]

2.36 0.44 <.0001 3.08 0.52 <.0001 1.77 0.35 .006

Considered Suicide

Seriously [Past Year]

0.86 0.13 .33 0.80 0.16 .27 1.49 0.36 .11

Marijuana Use [Past Month] 1.10 0.15 .50 1.01 0.27 .98 1.55 0.41 .12

Binge Drinking [Past Month] 0.78 0.20 .34 0.52 0.19 .09 2.68 0.86 .02

a Bolded results indicate significance at the alpha=.05 level or below.