A Study of Cyber Bullying Behavior in Middle-Schools in Rabat- Morocco: Prevalence and Risk FactorsA Study of Cyber Bullying Behavior in Middle-Schools in Rabat- Morocco: Prevalence and Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: Cyber bullying is considered a public health issue in many developed countries while in
Morocco there is a lack of data about this phenomenon.
Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullying among students in middle
schools in Rabat and to determine risk factors among students’ cyberbullying profiles.
Method: It’s a cross-sectional study based on an anonymous self-report questionnaire about inflicted
cyberbullying during the last twelve months. Data were collected in 16 middle-schools in the urban area of
Rabat. A total of 1914 students aged from 12 to 16 years participated in the study.
We used a Multinomial Logistic Regression to examine the relationship between the cyber bullying categories
and our independent variables.
Results: Cyber bullying has been reported by 54,5%(n=1043) of the sample, of which 18,8%(n=360), being
victims only, 11,7% (n=224) being perpetrators only, and 24,0% (n=459) being perpetrators/victims. There
wasn’t a significant difference in profile between genders. Most popular types of cyberbullying behavior
were text messages and exclusion from internet groups. Regarding traditional bullying, the prevalences
were 35% (n=669) of whom 16,4% (n=313) victims only, 7,6% (n=145) perpetrators only and 11%(n=211)
perpetrators/victims. Our study showed that traditional bullying was the main risk factor of cyberbullying.
Conclusion: Cyber bullying is a major issue among students in middle schools in Rabat. The main risk
factor is the involvement in traditional bullying. Hence,preventive actions should be taken to help reduce
and overcome violence in schools.