Cyberbullying in a Higher Education Context: A Systematic Review for Cyberbullying Among Students in an American and Canadian Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Recent studies have defined cyberbullying as an anonymous repeated or non-repeated aggressive intentional electronic act carried out by an individual or individuals to embarrass or harm victims (Barr & Lugus, 2011; Cunningham et al., 2015; Walk, 2014). Research also suggests that cyberbullying occurs in higher education settings and there is a strong need to develop policies, programs, and interventions for cyberbullying in the sphere of higher education (Chatters, 2014 & Watts et al, 2017). Limited evidence about anti-cyberbullying programs in university settings is available in the literature examining the U.S. and Canada’s higher education settings. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine and systematically compile literature methodologies and findings of cyberbullying among students, to explore the evidentiary basis for future research on cyberbullying in higher education. This systematic review included 102 research articles in a wide variety of journals published in the U.S and Canada between 2008 and 2018, and investigated cyberbullying of students in contexts of higher education. The review explored empirical research about the prevalence of cyberbullying among college and university students, the content of cyberbullying, and the research methodology. Studies focused on victims of cyberbullying, while the content of cyberbullying was indicated as being a combination of offensive texts and pictures/videos. Reviewed studies were generally quantitative in nature that accumulated data through the years 2008 to 2018, with a noticeable lack in research about the Canadian context of higher education.