With the increasing use of electronic communications andInternet, a growing problem among youth is the experience of onlineharassment (cyberbullying). Estimates of the extent ofcyberbullying vary. In one national (U.S.) survey conducted in2005, professional interviewers used random-digit dialing toconstruct a sample of 1,500 English-speaking households with youthbetween the ages 10 and 17 who use the Internet (Youth InternetSafety Survey). Youth were interviewed if their parents providedconsent, and the youth assented. Nine percent of the youth in thissample reported being targets of online harassment within the pastyear. In another study conducted in 2008, 20,406 high schoolstudents (9th -12th grades) in the Boston metropolitan areacompleted an anonymous, paper-and-pencil survey about health andbehavior topics one day in school (MetroWest Adolescent HealthSurvey). One question asked, “How many times has someone used theInternet, a phone, or other electronic communications to bully,tease, or threaten you?\" In this sample, 15.8% of the studentsreported being victimized within the past year.

Decide whether each of the following statements is Trueor False, then explain your answer.

A.   The much larger sample size of the Boston surveyindicates that 15.8% is a more reliable estimate of the amount ofcyberbullying experienced by youth in the U.S. population.

B.   The different ages included in the twosamples (10-17 and 9th-12th graders) may account for differences inthe reported rate of cyberbullying.

C.   One reason youth reported more cyberbullying inthe Boston study could be because an anonymous, self-report surveywas used, compared to the telephone interview for the nationalsample.

D.   The findings for Internet bullying inthe two surveys indicate that the Boston area has more Internetbullying than the overall national rate.

E.         The findingsfor the two surveys indicate that the percentage of cyberbullyingincreased nearly 7% points from 2005 to 2008.