Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access

Abstract

When Cyberbullying and Bullying Meet Gaming: A systemic Review of the Literature

Li Qing

Bullying is an increasingly growing concern among children and adolescents; with the technology advances, youth has found more efficient ways to inflict harm to others via cyberbullying. The media is a relentless source for blaming violent video games as the ‘cause’ of bullying and cyberbullying. Despite this vast amount of research in all three individual areas, namely bullying, cyberbullying, and gaming, there is little research reviewing the connections between them. This study, therefore, systematically reviews the literature exploring the interconnectedness of these areas with a specific focus on how gaming interacts with cyberbullying and bullying. In addition, it creates a model grounded in enactivism to help us identify future areas of research and develop effective cyberbullying prevention programs.

Specifically, we conducted a literature search across 40 research databases to include, but not limited to PsycINFO, ERIC, Psycarticles, Teacher Reference Center, and Computer Science Index. Grounded in enactivism, we proposed the Enactivist Model of Cyberbullying, Bullying and Gaming, which suggests that the exploration of cyberbullying and bullying in relation to gaming should be conducted in a holistic fashion rather than limiting the focus on individuals’ aggressive behavior. The model also provided a framework not only to make sense of but also to present the existing literature.