Is Cyber Aggression a New Form of Social Aggression?: An Examination of the Frequency and Motivations for Using These Behaviours

The current study examined the frequency and motivations for using social aggression and cyber-social aggression against a friend in the past school year. 429 students (females, n =227) completed a set of self-report measures. The majority of youth (86%) indicated using social aggression and half (51%) of students reported using cyber-social aggression against a friend in the past school year. Girls reported using more socially aggressive behaviours than boys, with no sex differences for cyber-social aggression. Factor analytic results indicated a five factor model for both the Motivations for Social Aggression Scale (Acceptance, Revenge, Amusement, Jealousy, Anonymity), and the Motivations for Cyber-social Aggression Scale (Jealousy, Revenge, Amusement, Social Image, Anonymity. Results have implications for the study of social and cyber-social aggression, and highlight the importance of addressing the motivations for using these behaviours when developing future interventions. ​