• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Greater empathy in adolescents helps prevent bias-based cyberbullying

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
August 8, 2022
in Biology
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Online Bullying and Empathy
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Bullying has been made easier and sometimes more serious by social media, gaming platforms, and other online communications technologies, affecting so many of our schools, families and communities. Research is also clear that cyberbullying – the online variant of school-based bullying – is linked to a host of negative emotional, psychological, physiological and behavioral outcomes.

Online Bullying and Empathy

Credit: Florida Atlantic University

Bullying has been made easier and sometimes more serious by social media, gaming platforms, and other online communications technologies, affecting so many of our schools, families and communities. Research is also clear that cyberbullying – the online variant of school-based bullying – is linked to a host of negative emotional, psychological, physiological and behavioral outcomes.

While the topic has received widespread attention in the last decade, little is known about its relationship with empathy. Even less is known about how empathy is related to bias-based cyberbullying:  harm and abuse toward others because of one’s identity (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender or religion) – a phenomenon of increasing concern against the backdrop of rising hate speech and hate crimes across the nation.

A first-of-its-kind study led by Florida Atlantic University in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, explored the relationship between empathy and cyberbullying among early U.S. adolescents. Researchers were particularly interested in two types of empathy – affective and cognitive – and how they differed in children who cyberbullied. Affective empathy is generally automatic and an unconscious reaction where the feelings of another are felt and shared, while cognitive empathy involves an intentional placing of oneself in the position of another to identify their mental state and understand their emotions.

For the study, researchers used a national sample of 1,644 12 to 15 year olds and examined general cyberbullying, race-based cyberbullying, and religion-based cyberbullying. Results, published in the Journal of Early Adolescence, showed that those higher in empathy were significantly less likely to cyberbully others in general, and cyberbully others based on their race or religion. The higher a youth scored on empathy, the lower the likelihood that the youth cyberbullied others. When it came to bias-based cyberbullying, higher levels of total empathy were associated with lower odds of cyberbullying others based on their race or religion.

When the two sub-facets of empathy were considered separately, only cognitive empathy was significantly and inversely related to cyberbullying. Surprisingly, affective empathy was not. This finding was unexpected because research has consistently shown a negative association between affective empathy and a variety of bullying behaviors.

“Based on our findings, we believe that schools need more focused efforts to improve empathy as a means to reduce these forms of harm and better protect those in vulnerable and marginalized communities,” said Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D., lead author, professor, FAU School of Criminology and Criminal Justice within the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, and a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. “However, anti-bullying programs need specific direction as to what type(s) of empathy should be prioritized.”

Cognitive empathy and not affective empathy has been found to be associated with sensitivity to injustice, which inhibits harm toward others and compels positive, intervening action when witnessing victimization online (or offline). Moreover, cognitive empathy is interconnected with “social empathy” and understanding another person’s emotions.  

“For decades, research has shown that those who are different than the prevailing majority are not disproportionately targeted, but suffer more severe consequences when victimized. As such, we must continue to identify what can stem the tide of this trend,” said Hinduja. “Our study suggests that cultivating and enhancing cognitive empathy in young persons should not only reduce participation in race- and religion-based cyberbullying, but other forms of bias-based cyberbullying such as those tied to one’s sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.”  

Study co-author is Justin W. Patchin, Ph.D., professor of criminal justice, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center. 

– FAU –

About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across six campuses located along the southeast Florida coast. In recent years, the University has doubled its research expenditures and outpaced its peers in student achievement rates. Through the coexistence of access and excellence, FAU embodies an innovative model where traditional achievement gaps vanish. FAU is designated a Hispanic-serving institution, ranked as a top public university by U.S. News & World Report and a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.



Journal

The Journal of Early Adolescence

DOI

10.1177/02724316221088757

Method of Research

Meta-analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Bias-Based Cyberbullying Among Early Adolescents: Associations With Cognitive and Affective Empathy

Article Publication Date

29-May-2022

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Unraveling the Psoas Major: Pig Muscle Quality Insights

Unraveling the Psoas Major: Pig Muscle Quality Insights

October 22, 2025
blank

Decoding the Science Behind Aging

October 22, 2025

Can Blood Tests in Dogs Reveal Clues About Human Aging?

October 22, 2025

Sulcal Pits: New Insights into Sex-Related Brain Differences

October 22, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1272 shares
    Share 508 Tweet 318
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    305 shares
    Share 122 Tweet 76
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    143 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    131 shares
    Share 52 Tweet 33

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Nurses’ Roles: Impact on Care Quality and Perception

Therapeutic Innovation in Oncology: Defining the Undefined

Myasthenia Gravis: Navigating Mental Health Challenges

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 66 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.