Bullying and Cyberbullying in Thailand: Coping Strategies and Relation to Age, Gender, Religion and Victim Status

Abstract

Both traditional (offline) and cyber (online) bullying amongst children and young people are serious problems internationally, including in Thailand. Most studies of these were conducted in western countries, with research in Asian countries much less common. We report on a survey of 1,049 students (42% boys, 58% girls) aged 12 to 18 years, in 12 schools from 3 provinces in southern Thailand, of experiences of being a victim of traditional and cyberbullying over the past couple of months, and recommended coping strategies. Telling a teacher or parent was the most recommended strategy for traditional victimization; this was less so for cyber victimization, where blocking messages/identities or changing email address or phone number were most recommended. Older pupils were more likely to recommend reporting to the police, and keeping a record of bullying incidents. There were many gender differences, with girls recommending telling and reporting more, for both traditional and cyber victimization. Girls also recommended ignoring it more, or blocking messages; while boys recommended fighting back, but also making new friends. There were few differences by religion. Victims were more likely to recommend passive strategies such as avoiding the victims, or risky ones such as fighting back. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research, and implications for anti-bullying work in schools.

Coping with Cybervictimization: The Role of Direct Confrontation and Resilience on Adolescent Wellbeing

“…On the other hand, the present study adds a possible explanation of the relation among these variables, suggesting that a high risk for cybervictimization in females is combined with a lack of resilience, resulting in more severe emotional symptoms. With respect to the role of age, the age-related increase in direct confrontation might be influenced by an improvement of technical skills in the use of internet or by a greater familiarity in dealing with online harassment, as suggested by other studies [58] and stressing the idea that coping strategies towards bullying and cyberbullying tend to increase with age.…”

Sex Differences in Adolescent Bullying Behaviours

“…It has been recommended that the bullying behaviours in which girls or boys are predominantly involved be taken into account in developing prevention and intervention methodologies targeted at specific behaviours and coping strategies (Smith et al, 2019). In this regard, girls seem to prefer coping strategies that include help-seeking or ignoring bullies, while boys choose to defend themselves directly, make new friends, or even stay away from school (Sittichai & Smith, 2018).…”

How the Education Community Perceives Cyberbullying: a Comparison of Students, Teachers and Families

“…von Marées and Petermann (2012), Undheim, Wallander, and Sund (2016) and Sittichai and Smith (2018) state that the students involved in bullying and cyberbullying should receive training in effective coping strategies to overcome these situations. Lazarus (1993) defined these coping strategies as someone's behavioral and cognitive skills used to overcome an internal or external stress situation.…”