What Drives Aggressive Online Behavior Among Adults? A literature review and explanatory model integrating individual, situational, and social status determinants

Although the research field of aggressive online behavior is still relatively new, it is growing explosively and attracting attention from both researchers and the public. Online aggression encompasses a wide range of behaviors such as online hatred, trolling, cyberbullying, and online incivility. To date, however, little attempt has been made to synthesize and integrate previously scattered evidence on the determinants of aggressive online behavior among adults. Therefore, this chapter reviews such evidence published in journal articles on Web of Science and Google Scholar up to August 2022. In addition, it places them within a sociologically inspired theoretical framework for explaining online aggression. Three main domains are proposed: (1) individual determinants, including descriptive and evaluative beliefs, emotions and needs, and personality; (2) situational determinants, including technical affordances, social norms, and emotional-conflictive experiences; and (3) social status, including achieved and ascribed status. This literature review and proposed framework advance the literature on online aggression; they are consistent with calls for conceptual development on online aggression by disentangling its causes and correlates to overcome the current lack of continuity and coherence. Moreover, this review represents a critical step forward in tailoring prevention and intervention measures. Recommendations are derived for future research.