Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Yawen Li

Abstract

Cyber aggression is a widespread social problem with serious psychological impacts on both perpetrators and victims. Eighty-five percent of Americans say they use the Internet daily, and thirty-one of Americans report they go online “almost constantly”. Forty-one percent of Americans say they have experienced some form of online harassment. While there is a great deal of research across various disciplines about the frequency of cyber aggression, who perpetrates it, and what traits are associated with it, motivations for cyber aggression are less understood. Understanding the motivations involved is an important factor in preempting and countering cyber aggression. The Cyber Aggression Typology (CATQ) is an instrument that disentangles four forms of cyber aggression through a quadripartite violence typology: recreation, reward, rage, and revenge. This study systematically reviewed empirical studies that used the CATQ to understand the impact of an instrument that disentangles aggressive motivations. This systematic review found that this specific instrument, in contrast to other instruments, can track unique relationships between motivations for cyber aggression and traits such as gender, hostile intent attribution, and culture. Findings indicate that reward and recreation are strong motivators for cyber aggression, suggesting more focus is needed on appetitive motivations and how they interact with specific affordances provided by the digital realm.

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