Cyberbullying among high school students in Japan: Development and validation of the Online Disinhibition Scale

•A self-report questionnaire was administered to 887 high-school students.•Exploratory factor analysis yielded two factors – benign and toxic disinhibition.•The two factor solution was validated using confirmatory factor analysis.•Students involved in cyberbullying showed higher levels of online disinhibition.•Not only toxic, but benign disinhibition also was associated with cyberbullying.

Recent research has revealed some factors that contribute to cyberbullying, but the role of online disinhibition remains an area for further clarification. This study examined online disinhibition and cyberbullying behavior among Japanese adolescents. A sample of 887 high school students (mean age 16.31) were administered a survey about their cyberbullying experience. The questionnaire included the Online Disinhibition Scale (ODS), a new 11 item instrument developed to assess online disinhibition levels. In order to validate ODS, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted. EFA yielded two factors subsequently named “benign disinhibition” and “toxic disinhibition”. Results from CFA supported the two factor solution as an acceptable model fit. Logistic regression analyses showed that online disinhibition was significantly associated with cyberbullying.