학술논문

When cyberaggression is personal: gender differences in threats and betrayals of partners and friends
Document Type
JOURNAL
Source
Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 2022, Vol. 15, Issue 2, pp. 95-108.
Subject
research-article
Research paper
cat-HSC
Health & social care
Criminology & forensic psychology
Aggression
Gender
Domestic violence
Cyber dating abuse
Cyberaggression
Online harassment
Victim–offender relationship
Language
English
ISSN
1759-6599
Abstract
Purpose New ways of perpetrating relational aggression have been facilitated by the increased availability and adoption of technology for communication, resulting in growing cyberaggression rates over the past few decades. Few studies have examined whether perpetrators of cyberaggression are more likely to target friends or romantic partners (or both) and whether this differs across the gender of the perpetrator. This is the key focus of the current study. Design/methodology/approach Participants completed an online survey which assessed three types of cyberaggression (threatened to share secrets, shared secrets and posted embarrassing pictures) against friends and then also against romantic partners. The sample included 678 undergraduate university students who were in a romantic relationship at the time of the survey (72.6% female and 27.4% male, age range 18–50 years, average 21.7 and SD = 4.5). Findings The results of this study showed that a significantly higher proportion of males than females perpetrated cyberaggression against friends and romantic partners. In addition, a significantly higher proportion of males engaged in “general” cyberaggression (targeting both friends and romantic partners), whilst a higher proportion of females engaged in “selective” cyberaggression (targeting either friends or romantic partners). Originality/value Collectively, this study tells us that whilst there has been wide examination of cyberaggression more broadly, very few studies explore who perpetrators target (i.e. the victim–offender relationship), especially across gender of the perpetrator. The current study is original in that it asks perpetrators to report who they target and then examines gender differences in perpetration rates across victim–offender relationships.