The Relationship between Individual and Family Characteristics and Cyberbullying Exposure in a Nationally Representative Sample of School-Aged Children Living in Serbia

Abstract

The study provides evidence on the individual and family factors as potential predictors (odds ratio—OR and 95% CI) of cyber-violence among school-aged children (11–17 years old) from 64 schools participating in the 2017 Serbian Study on health behavior in school-age children (HBSC). The standardized international HBSC research protocol was used. The study population was the nationally representative sample of 3267 students of V and VII grades of primary and I grade of secondary schools in Serbia. Potential predictors for the probability of occurrence vs. non-occurrence of cyberbullying exposure at least once and multiple times were identified among 24 explanatory variables, including the individual characteristics and family context. The cyberbullying exposure was more prevalent among girls than among boys of school-age, i.e., over one in seven girls and one in ten boys were exposed to cyberbullying. Over one in seven students at age 13 years and almost every seventh student at grade I of the gymnasium were exposed to cyberbullying. There were more students exposed to at least one cyberbullying than to multiple cyberbullying. Potential predictors of exposure to cyberbullying are gender, opinion of the family’s affluence status, fathers’ employment, communication with father, and family support. The study compensates for the evidence of cyberbullying in Serbia, which could help raise awareness, inform national and international stakeholders in the region and enable their efforts and strengthen cooperation in ending cyberbullying. This study’s findings could inform the development of an intervention program aimed at families and various professionals involved in protecting and improving school-age children’s health and well-being.