Internet-chatrooms: A new playground for bullies. A comparison of bullying behavior in school and in chatrooms from the perpetrators' perspective

Bullying is not a specific phenomenon of the school environment. Different forms of verbal victimisation and social manipulation are also common behaviors in internet chatrooms. The present study compares traditional bullying with chatroom bullying. A total of 1,700 pupils of different secondary schools (aged 10 to 19) participated and were asked about their own aggressive behavior in school and in internet chatrooms. Variables like self-confidence, child-parent-relationship, school situation, delinquency, dissocial behavior on the internet, and attitudes to aggression were also examined. The results show that bullies in school are also significantly more often bullies in chatrooms than others. Furthermore, bullying behavior in school and in chatrooms is determined by similar predictors.