Cyber and school bullying: Same or different phenomena? Nafsika Antoniadou, Constantinos M. Kokkinos ⁎ Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece abstract article info Article history: Received 29 October 2014 Received in revised form 24 May 2015 Accepted 23 September 2015 Available online xxxx Keywords: Cyber-bullying School bullying Similarities Differences According to most definitions, cyber-bullying is another type of bullying that occurs with the use of information and communication technologies. Nevertheless, a significant number of researchers dispute whether it consti- tutes another type of school bullying materialized with different means, or a different type of aggression that has unique characteristics and distinctive participant profiles. The present paper aimed at reviewing existing re- search literature regarding the similarities and differences between the two phenomena. Overall, there are three positions regarding the differences between cyber-bullying/victimization and school bullying/victimization: a) they constitute the same phenomenon, but are realized with different means, b) they are similar only in spe- cific aspects and under certain circumstances, and finally c) they are completely distinct phenomena. The debate regarding the similarities between the two phenomena is deemed essential, since if it is established that they constitute the same phenomenon, similar prevention and intervention practices could be applied, while on the contrary, in case of significant differences, further investigation will be required for the identification of effective practices. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1.1. Cyber-bullying/victimization and school bullying/victimization: similar phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1.2. Cyber-bullying/victimization and school bullying/victimization: partially related phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1.3. Cyber-bullying/victimization and school bullying/victimization: distinct phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2. Methodological issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 3. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1. Introduction Over the last years, the study of cyber-bullying and cyber- victimization has expanded noticeably worldwide. Although school bul- lying and school victimization among children have been long-standing and pervasive social issues (Jones, Manstead, & Livingstone, 2011), cyber-bullying has only recently become the center of scientific atten- tion. While as respective reviews indicate, the term “cyber-bullying” did not exist a decade ago (Notar, Padgett, & Roden, 2013), gradually, studies worldwide investigated the prevalence of cyber-bullying and cyber-victimization, their correlates (in terms of both personal and contextual factors) (e.g., Şahin, 2012), the motives for participation, and efficient prevention and intervention practices. As various sources suggest, bullying is not a recent phenomenon. According to academic and non-academic references, incidents resem- bling bullying have been evident before 1885 (Koo, 2007). Repetitive proactive aggressive behaviors manifest in all countries, among partici- pants of varying ages and in different contexts. Although research has primarily focused on bullying in school grounds, it is a frequent behavior in other places as well, in which members interact on a regular basis (Björkqvist, Lagerspetz, & Kaukiainen, 1992). Examples include families, correctional institutes, higher education institutions, etc. Among chil- dren and adolescents, experiences of such repetitive behavior have been described with the term bullying, whereas the term harassment is usually used for the respective behavior among adults (Roberts, 2008). Conclusively, regardless the rising research activity on bullying during the last decades, the incidence of the phenomenon has not Aggression and Violent Behavior xxx (2015) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Primary Education, School of Educational Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, N. Hili, GR68100, Alexandroupolis, Greece. Tel.: +30 2551030066; fax: +30 2551030020. E-mail address: kkokkino@eled.duth.gr (C.M. Kokkinos). AVB-00962; No of Pages 10 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.09.013 1359-1789/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Aggression and Violent Behavior Please cite this article as: Antoniadou, N., & Kokkinos, C.M., Cyber and school bullying: Same or different phenomena?, Aggression and Violent Be- havior (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.09.013