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PREVALENCE OF CYBERBULLYING AMONG TRADITIONAL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ATTENDING FAITH-BASED UNIVERSITIES: A CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE STUDY

by Susan A. Hayes-McElroy

Liberty University

Video: About Liberty University

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education

Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA 2021

APPROVED BY:

Dr. Meredith Park, Ed.D., Committee Chair

Dr. Benjamin Tickle, Ph.D., Committee Member

PREVALENCE OF CYBERBULLYING AMONG TRADITIONAL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ATTENDING FAITH-BASED UNIVERSITIES: A CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE STUDY

ABSTRACT

Cyberbullying among traditional undergraduate students is a relatively new issue that involves the safety of postsecondary students. The purpose of this study was to provide statistical data to faith-based universities that relate the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization experiences and the prevalence of cyberbullying offending experiences of traditional undergraduate students to biological gender (female/male) and level of religiosity (higher/lower), and to add to the small body of research conducted among this demographic. In this quantitative, causal-comparative study, traditional undergraduate students were recruited from two faith-based universities in the southern United States. Level of religiosity and cyberbullying prevalence were determined through responses to an anonymous, online survey using the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) and the Cyberbullying and Online Aggression Survey (COAS), respectively. The researcher utilized two separate two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyze the data. The study had 284 participants that included 180 female students and 104 male students. Findings indicated that gender and level of religiosity did not have a significant effect on the prevalence of cyberbullying experiences scores among traditional undergraduate students attending faith-based universities. The results contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the prevalence of cyberbullying experiences among university students. Future research on the prevalence of cyberbullying experiences among university students could include comparing secular and faith-based universities and investigating cyberbullying prevalence at faith-based universities in different parts of the United States.

Keywords: cyberbullying, higher education, religiosity, theory of planned behavior, theory of reasoned action

Copyright 2021 by Susan Hayes-McElroy All Rights Reserved

Dedication

I dedicate this manuscript to my mother, Major Shirley L. Hayes-Long, and my adoptive father, Major John W. Jordan. Your profound influence on my life continues to motivate and challenge me to want to be better, do better, and achieve more. Thank you for your love and support. I love you more than I can express, and I am glad to have you both in my corner, cheering me on!

I also dedicate this manuscript to the memory of my late father, Mr. Richard Everett Hayes. You have been gone a long time, but I still miss you. I know you are smiling down from heaven! I love you, Pop!

Acknowledgments

First, I want to give thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the blessings He has given me throughout my life and for giving me the health and strength to stay the course. I want to acknowledge my precious children, Kyle Alexander, Carter Scott, and Cameron John Everett for being patient, fixing their own dinner on numerous occasions (“make your own”), and loving me through as I worked toward this lifelong dream. I am also grateful to my husband Bret for allowing me to use our shared resources to accomplish this goal. While working on this degree, I have felt the love, support, and encouragement from friends and family who have cheered me on. Special thanks to Renee Corker, Sandi Doyle, Julianne Frazier, Sherry Gardner, Ruth Hayes, Scott Hayes, Dr. Julie Johnson, Major Bonnie Jordan (Mama J), Major Gary Long (Pop Pop), Jennifer Melton, and C. L. Wallace (I am finally Dr. A). Thank you all for listening, proof reading, praying, and/or encouraging me! You are all very special!

About a year and a half into my doctoral journey, I happened upon a Facebook page for Liberty University doctoral students founded by Dr. Emmanuel Cherilien. This online “cohort” truly provided a place to ask questions and encourage fellow doctoral students. I am grateful for his vision and for finding a way for online doctoral students to support one another. I am also thankful to the fellow doctoral students on the page for all the encouragement!

Finally, without the help of my dissertation committee, this dissertation would not have been possible. I want to thank my committee member, Dr. Benjamin Tickle, for investing time and energy to help me polish and perfect the manuscript. To my chair, Dr. Meredith Park, there are not enough words to say thank you for your investment of time and energy to ensure that I reached the finish line. I will forever be grateful for your prayers and encouraging words on the days I did not think I would get this done. I am glad to, finally, be a colleague!

ABSTRACT
Dedication
Acknowledgments
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
- Overview
- Background
  - History of the Problem
  - Social Setting
  - Theoretical Framework
- Problem Statement
- Purpose Statement
- Significance of the Study
- Research Questions
- Definitions
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
- Overview
- Theoretical Framework
  - Theory of Reasoned Action
  - Theory of Planned Behavior
- Related Literature
  - Traditional Bullying
  - Cyberbullying
  - Religiosity
- Summary
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
- Overview
- Design
- Research Questions
- Hypotheses
- Participants and Setting
- Instrumentation
  - Cyberbullying and Online Aggression Survey
  - Duke University Religion Index (DUREL)
- Procedures
- Data Analysis
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
- Overview
- Research Questions
- Null Hypotheses
- Descriptive Statistics
- Results
  - Data Screening
  - Assumptions
  - Results for Null Hypothesis One
  - Results for Null Hypothesis Two
  - Results for Null Hypothesis Three
  - Results for Null Hypothesis Four
  - Results for Null Hypothesis Five
  - Results for Null Hypothesis Six
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS
- Overview
- Discussion
- Implications
- Limitations
- Recommendations for Future Research
REFERENCES
APPENDIX A: CYBERBULLYING AND ONLINE AGGRESSION SURVEY
APPENDIX B: DUKE UNIVERSITY RELIGION INDEX (DUREL)
APPENDIX C: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD PERMISSION
APPENDIX D: STUDENT RECRUITMENT EMAIL
APPENDIX E: PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM
APPENDIX F: STUDENT THANK YOU E-MAIL
APPENDIX G: STUDENT RECRUITMENT FOLLOW-UP E-MAIL
APPENDIX H: PERMISSION CORRESPONDENCE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH

List of Tables

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics: Cyberbullying Victimization

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics: Cyberbullying Offending

Table 3. Tests of Normality: Cyberbullying Victimization

Table 4. Tests of Normality: Cyberbullying Offending

Table 5. Results of Two-Way Analysis of Variance: Cyberbullying Victimization

Table 6. Results of Two-Way Analysis of Variance: Cyberbullying Offending

List of Figures

Figure 1. Box-and-whisker plot for cyberbullying victimization and gender

Figure 2. Box-and-whisker plot for cyberbullying victimization and level of religiosity

Figure 3. Box-and-whisker plot for cyberbullying offending and gender

Figure 4. Box-and-whisker plot for cyberbullying offending and level of religiosity

List of Abbreviations

Analysis of variance (ANOVA)

Cyberbullying and Online Aggression Survey (COAS)

Duke University Religion Index (DUREL)

Information and communication technologies (ICT)

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Theory of planned behavior (TPB)

Theory of reasoned action (TRA)