Cyberbullying and Depression among Chinese Youth

Abstract

Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to harass, insult, or cause harm to a person via the Internet. Cyberbullying has become more prevalent in todays society, and young people who experience it frequently feel isolated and helpless, potentially contributing to the rising rate of depression. However, little research has been conducted on the depression caused by cyberbullying among Chinese high school students. Therefore, this study focuses on the current state of depression among Chinese high school students and its correlation with age, gender, and city level. The questionnaire used was a modified Chinese version of the CES-D scale and was distributed via social media to 184 current Chinese high school students from various regions. After conducting a pilot study, the language of the Chinese version of the CES-D scale has been adjusted to become more understandable for students. Participants filled out an online questionnaire, and SPSS was used to analyse the data. Male students have a slightly lower average total depression score (M = 62.74) than female students (M = 65.71). There was no correlation between gender and student depression. Furthermore, there is no significant correlation between school location and depression levels (p = 0.084, p > 0.05). In addition, the overall Pearson correlation score indicates that depression and age are correlated with a weak association of 0.178 and a significance of 0.016 (p = 0.016, p < 0.05).