CYBERBULLYING, VICTIMIZATION, STRAINS AND DELINQUENCY IN QATAR

The paper analyses the effects of strain variables (school delinquency, public disturbances, crimes, assaults, imprudent behaviour, violence, delinquency and negative emotions) on cyberbullying victimization of high school students in Qatar (N = 1733, 55% males, 45% of females). Findings indicate that a fifth of students reported bullying victimization and a tenth of cyberbullying. Results showed that strain variables could explain a 49% change in cyberbullying victimization. The Logistic regression model correctly classified 93.3% overall prediction of the cases. Significant gender differences were found in cyberbullying. Significant mean differences were found between bullied and non-bullied students at (α = 000) in all strain variables. This study supported our GST hypothesis that victimization of students’ cyberbullying could lead to strains and delinquency. Implications for school-based prevention efforts are discussed.