Cyberbullying Victimization Research Articles

Parental Care and Family Support as Moderators on Overlapping College Student Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization during the Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Purpose The study examined whether parental care and family support moderate the association between school bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization among college students by applying the social anthropological approach and social control theory Method Data were collected for 261 college students (57.9% female) aged between 18 to 24 or older from a university in the Midwest region of the United States. A latent moderated structural equations approach was utilized Results The data revealed that bullying victimization was positively associated with cyberbullying victimization. Moreover, parental care was a significant moderator between bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization Discussion These findings have implications of preventing victims of bullying becoming victims of cyberbullying. Parental involvement especially needs to be emphasized for college students’ cyberbullying prevention and intervention programs.

Educational Characteristics of Students - Victims of Cyberbullying

An increasing number of children and young people are exposed to peer violence via the Internet, but despite this, the fact that it is still not sufficiently recognized as a serious problem in society is worrying. The virtual world gives bullies anonymity, dominance, courage, a sense of security and power. By being involved in the virtual world, children and young people, victims of violence, always experience violence again and feel helpless and depressed, because they cannot fully influence the violent content. In our research, we were based on secondary school students, because they are the most vulnerable category when it comes to violence on the Internet. The subject of the research includes identifying the presence and forms of cyberbullying among secondary school students in the municipality of Modriča, as well as researching the relationship between the manner of cyberbullying and the educational characteristics of students – the victims of cyberbullying. The results of the research indicate that out of the total number of respondents, 39.7% of them were victims of cyberbullying, and when it comes to educational indicators, the victims of cyberbullying are mostly students with excellent and very good results.

The relationship of childhood trauma with cyberbullying and cyber victimization among university students

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of childhood trauma with cyberbullying and cyber victimization levels among health sciences and medical faculty students. MethodThis study was conducted with 350 students studying at the health sciences and medical faculty of a university in Istanbul. The data were collected using an information form, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Cyber Bullying Scale, and the Cyber Victimization Scale. ResultsA significant positive correlation was found between the childhood trauma and cyberbullying and cyber victimization levels of the students. A significant positive correlation was also found between cyber victimization and cyberbullying levels. ConclusionStudents at risk of cyber bullying and cyber victimization should be identified, and awareness and coping programs should be planned.

Bullying victimization and nicotine and marijuana vaping among Florida adolescents

PurposePrevious research links bullying victimization with the use of illicit substances in adolescence. In addition, recent research has linked bullying victimization with vaping. Very limited research, however, has explored how different forms of bullying may be linked with nicotine and marijuana vaping specifically. ProceduresThis study addresses this gap in the literature by utilizing logistic regression to examine the relationships between verbal, physical, and cyber bullying victimization and nicotine and marijuana vaping in a sample of Florida adolescents. FindingsOur findings reveal that all three forms of bullying victimization are linked with recent nicotine vaping, and these associations differ somewhat by youth gender. In addition, our findings indicate that cyber bullying victimization is linked with marijuana vaping. ConclusionsIn conclusion, our findings suggest that bullying victimization is linked with greater odds of vaping activity in adolescents. The implications of these findings for future research and policy are discussed.

Psychosocial factors of risk and protection associated with juvenile cyberbullying victimization: results from an international multi-city study (International Self-Report Delinquency Study 3, ISRD3)

The growing use of technologies makes it easy for children and young people to access or produce offensive content, giving rise to a new form of bullying: cyberbullying. Several individual and environmental protection and risk factors are involved with cyberbullying victimization. The present study aims to provide some empirical data that can help in understanding cyberbullying and in the formulation of programmes for its prevention. For this purpose, the data of the ISRD3 (International Self-Report Delinquency Study 3) survey were used. Data show that, for strategies of prevention and intervention to be effective, they should consider multiple systems, such as the family, peers, school and community.

Online safety experiences of autistic young people: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

BackgroundMany autistic young people use online devices for social connection and to share interests. However, there is limited research regarding autistic online safety behaviours. Compared with non-autistic children, parental surveys have indicated that autistic young people are less likely to block people and/or online sites. To date, no research has explored autistic young people’s perceptions of their online safety experiences. This qualitative research explored autistic young people’s experiences of communicating with others online, as well as their online safety experiences. MethodSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 autistic young people aged 11–17 years (M = 14.0, SD = 2.2), including 8 males (M = 13.9, SD = 2.1) and 6 females (M = 14.5, SD = 2.5). These were conducted face to face (n = 1), phone call (n = 2), or via Skype (n = 8) or live web chat (n = 3). Questions explored factors relating to autistic young people’s online safety experiences. ResultsInterpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the data. In line with previous studies, autistic young people reported being victims of cyberbullying. Young autistic females reported being subject to online sexual harassment. While participants’ online experiences varied, there were commonalities, including a desire for more support to block online comments and/or individuals. ConclusionsOur results support previous findings that autistic young people are subject to online harassment and are not confident blocking unwanted contact from others online. Future interventions will be more readily accepted and ecologically valid if they address the unique needs of autistic young people.

Cyber-bullying among university students: Concurrent relations to belief in a just world and to empathy

The aim of this study was to investigate concurrent relations of belief in a just world (BJW), justice experiences, and empathy to cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. Our theoretical framework contained a distinction between personal and general BJW and between affective and cognitive empathy. Due to theory and recent research, we expected students’ BJW, lecturer and fellow student justice, and empathy to relate negatively to cyber-bullying perpetration. Furthermore, BJW and academic justice experiences are also expected to negatively relate to cyber-bullying victimization. In order to test our hypotheses, we conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study with N = 663 German university students (Mage = 22.6, SDage = 3.5; 68% female). Gender, internet use, and social desirability were considered as control variables. A structural equation model showed that students’ personal BJW, academic justice experiences, and both empathy dimensions but not general BJW negatively related to cyber-bullying perpetration. Additionally, students’ personal BJW and academic justice experiences but not general BJW or empathy were associated with cyber-bullying victimization. Male students and those with a low social desirability were more likely to report cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. Altogether, not only university students’ personal BJW and empathy but also their academic justice experiences related to cyber-bullying perpetration or victimization. Thus, researchers should develop strategies aiming to prevent or reduce cyber-bullying. Those should simultaneously foster students’ personal BJW and empathy as well as an academic environment characterized by just behavior of lecturers and students.

Prevalence, characteristics, and psychological outcomes of workplace cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: a cross-sectional online survey

BackgroundThe rapid introduction of teleworking due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led to concerns about increases in cyberbullying (CB) worldwide. However, little is known about workplace CB in non-Western countries. The first objective was to clarify the prevalence and characteristics regarding workplace CB victimization in Japan. The second objective was to demonstrate the psychological outcomes of CB victimization in combination with traditional bullying (TB).MethodsWe conducted an anonymous, cross-sectional, Internet-based survey targeting regular employees in Japan (N = 1200) in January 2021. We investigated CB victimization using the Inventory of Cyberbullying Acts at Work and TB victimization by using the Short Negative Act Questionnaire. Possible explanatory factors for TB/CB victimization were sociodemographic variables, personality trait, chronic occupational stress, organizational climate, and gratitude at work. We also measured psychological distress, insomnia, and loneliness to assess adverse effects of workplace bullying. Two-step cluster analysis was used in determining the patterns combined with TB and CB victimization. Hierarchical binomial logistic regression analysis was used.ResultsIn total, 8.0% of employees reported experiencing CB on a weekly basis. CB victimization was associated with younger age, managerial position, higher qualitative workload, and active information dissemination via the Internet, and frequency of teleworking. Three clusters based on TB and CB victimization patterns were identified: those who belong to the first cluster suffered neither from TB and CB (81.0%), the second cluster suffered only from TB (14.3%), and the third cluster suffered from both TB and CB (4.8%). The third cluster exhibited higher odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for psychological distress (OR = 12.63, 95% CI = 4.20–38.03), insomnia (OR = 6.26, 95% CI = 2.80–14.01), and loneliness (OR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.74–6.04) compared to the first cluster.ConclusionsThese findings firstly clarify the prevalence and correlated factors of CB victimization among employees in Japan. Further, we showed that psychological wellbeing can be impaired by the coexistence of TB and CB. Our research could be the first step to develop the effective countermeasures against workplace CB.

The Conditional Effects of Parental Internet Supervision on Online Victimization for Early Adolescent Boys

ABSTRACT Cyberbullying victimization is a key risk factor facing contemporary young men. Parental internet supervision is thought to be effective in mitigating these risks in mixed-gender samples, but the efficacy of internet supervision for young men specifically is unclear. This study examined the effects of internet supervision upon cybervictimisation among adolescent boys in an all-boys school (Mage = 13.44), moderated by internet use and availability of internet-enabled devices in the home. Both active and restrictive forms of supervision were conditionally related to increased cybervictimisation, suggesting that the efficacy of internet supervision may be highly sensitive to contextual factors.

Bullying Experiences, Depression, and the Moderating Role of Resilience Among Adolescents.

IntroductionResilience refers to the ability to adapt to difficult situation or adversity. Resilience is what gives people the psychological strength to cope with stress and hardship. Previous studies have investigated the relationship between resilience and bullying victimization and mental health problems. But whether the moderating effect of resilience against depression varies among victims of different types of bullying victimization remains unknown.MethodsThe study used data from the Taiwan Adolescent to Adult Longitudinal Study (TAALS), which was a school based, nationwide, longitudinal study conducted among adolescents in Taiwan. Between 2015 and 2019, the survey was repeated three times to capture changes in health behaviors. Meanwhile, our study is a cross-sectional study focusing on the 2nd follow-up survey of the TAALS, where we recruited 4,771 Grade 7 (12–13 years) and Grade 10 (15–16 years) students who had experienced bullying at school.ResultsThis study confirms the protective effect of resilience on depression among adolescents who have experienced bullying. The mode resilience score was used as a reference group. Compared to the reference group, victims of verbal bullying from the lowest resilience group were at the greatest risk of depression (OR = 5.91, CI = 4.38–7.99). Compared to the reference group, victims of cyber bullying from the highest resilience group had the lowest risk of depression (OR = 0.72, CI = 0.57–0.90).ConclusionRegardless of the type of bullying victimization, resilience has been shown to offer protection against depression. Specifically, higher resilience levels offer the greatest protection against depression for victims of cyber bullying compared to other three types of bullying victimization. Early interventions to reduce negative effects of bullying victimization may start with increasing an individual's resilience during adolescence.

Associations between school bullying and anxiety in children and adolescents from an ethnic autonomous county in China

School bullying is a widespread public health issue that negatively impacts the mental health of children and adolescents. This study aimed to investigate associations between school bullying involvement and anxiety of children and adolescents. A survey covering all types of pre-college schools (primary, middle, high, and vocational school) was conducted in an ethnic autonomous county in China. 1,943 students participated in this study. Being a victim of verbal (OR=3.08, 95%CI = [2.43,3.91]), physical (OR=3.24, 95%CI = [2.46,4.27]), relational (OR=3.72, 95%CI = [2.90,4.76]), or cyberbullying (OR=3.47, 95%CI = [2.61,4.61]) were associated with increased symptoms of generalized anxiety. Similarly, being a perpetrator of verbal (OR=2.12, 95%CI = [1.45,3.10]), physical (OR=1.85, 95%CI = [1.22,2.79]), relational (OR=1.78, 95%CI = [1.15,2.74]), or cyber-bullying (OR=1.59, 95%CI = [1.08,2.33]) were related to a higher degree of anxiety. Moreover, in both victims and perpetrators higher levels of anxiety were associated with a greater number of types of bullying they were involved in, suggesting a dose-response relation between school bullying involvement and anxiety. Therefore, both bullying victims and perpetrators need mental health support and anti-bullying strategies should address different forms of bullying evenhandedly.

Victims of Cyberbullying: Feeling Loneliness and Depression among Youth and Adult Chileans during the Pandemic.

In Chile, during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of cyberbullying victimization increased for adolescents and younger adults. Research has shown that cyber-victims—adolescents and young adults alike—are at greater risk for mental health problems such as depression as a result of this negative type of aggression. Yet, a paucity of research has examined the individual mechanisms germane to cyber-victim depression. We focused on loneliness for the current study. We hypothesized that cyber-victimization would be positively related to depressive symptoms through increased fears of loneliness and that this effect would differ between adolescents and younger adults. Thus, we examined a sample of 2370 participants from all main regions of Chile aged from 15 to 29 years. Moderated mediation results showed a negative effect of cyberbullying on depression, which was mediated by increased fears of being alone. The effect of frequency of cyberbullying on fear of loneliness was stronger for younger adults compared to adolescents. Our results suggest different mechanisms for both age groups, which can inform prevention programs and their specific activities.

Transcultural Translation and Reliability of Cyberbullying and Online Aggression Survey Instrument: Thai Version

This study aims to translate a screening instrument for cyberbullying, Cyberbullying and Online Aggression Survey (COAS), to Thai, then test for its internal consistency and report the prevalence of cyberbullying. The COAS is an original instrument self-report Likert-scale questionnaire consisting of 18 questions with two subscales (9 items each), including Cyberbullying Victimization (CV) and Cyberbullying Offending (CO) scales. The COAS was transculturally translated into a Thai version by forward-backward processes then the content validity was evaluated by six child and adolescent psychiatrists. The internal consistency was explored with secondary school students aged 12 to 18 years in Khon Kaen, a province in Northeastern Thailand. The results showed that the content validity index of the COAS-Thai was 1, and the index of item-objective congruence was 0.67–1.00. From 234 participants, Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.82, with 0.77 for CV and 0.69 for CO subscales. As high as 44.87% reported being involved in a cyberbullying incidence. In conclusion, the COAS-Thai had acceptable reliability, and almost half of the participants reported being involved in cyberbullying. However, future studies are required to improve the quality of the cyberbullying survey in the context of Thai society.

SMARTPHONE ADDICTION AND CYBERBULLYING VICTIMIZATION: PREVALENCE OF SOCIAL ANXIETY AMONG FEMALE UNDERGRADUATES

Smartphone pervasiveness is a global issue among teenagers, and the continual presence of smartphones has a negative impact on their well-being. With the extensive, daily use of the Internet and smartphones, young people are at increased risk to be exposed to some form of cyberbullying (Ljepava, & Tomic, 2019). Cyberbullying is a public health issue that affects mostly women and causes them grief and anxiety. Cyber-victimization has the ability to inflict serious harm as well as increased social anxiety. Cyberbullying is a common social maladjustment that has negative repercussions on the wellbeing and development of adolescents, but numerous questions remain as to the relationship between cyberbullying and social anxiety in adolescence (Martínez-Monteagudo et al, 2020). The primary purpose of the present study is to explore the relationship between social anxiety and cyberbullying victimization among female undergraduates and to establish if smartphone addiction moderates the above relationship. Ex-post facto research design and purposive sampling technique were adopted in the present study. Data was collected from samples (69 female undergraduate students) through self-reported questionnaires covering smartphone addiction, cyber bullying victimization, and social anxiety as variables. Moderator analyses were performed using SPSS 22.0. The results revealed higher the social anxiety, the higher the cyberbullying victimization, and the higher the smartphone addiction, the higher the cyberbullying victimization. Understanding the relationship between social anxiety and cyberbullying victimization and the impact of smartphone addiction could help the researchers to develop effective coping strategies, to prevent or combat the progression of social anxiety

Bullying/Cyberbullying en Quinto y Sexto Curso de Educación Primaria: Diferencias entre Contextos Rurales y Urbanos

The aim of this study is to analyse the differences between bullying and cyberbullying in rural and urban areas. The number of students who have participated in this research is 2,162: 52.7% in their 5th year of Primary Education in Spain (ages 10-11) and 47.3 % in their 6th year (ages 11-12) – 50.7% of them were living in the countryside and 49.3% in the city. Although the results showed that the impact of bullying/cyberbullying in rural and urban schools is very similar, some distinctive features have been identified: for example, in rural schools there are more victims of verbal bullying, exclusion, and cyberbullying, whereas in urban schools there is a clear trend of verbal bullying and exclusion. Depending on the context, there is also a significant pattern regarding the victims: in rural schools, victims of this type of abuse are schoolmates, but in urban schools victims and aggressors do not go to the same school. The results also show that the impact of this abuse depends on the size of the city/town where schools are located.

Gendered Analysis of Cyberbullying Victimization and Its Associations with Suicidality: Findings from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

Cyberbullying victimization (CV), a widespread experience in adolescence, is associated with increased depression and suicidality. However, few studies have taken a gender approach when investigating the association between CV and suicidality, despite research that indicates disparate experiences by gender for both CV and mental health. We conducted a secondary data analysis of the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 10,309; 50.1% girls), a cross-sectional survey drawn from a representative sample of US high school students. We found that CV remained significantly associated with suicidality after controlling for emotional and behavioral risk factors, for both boys and girls. CV increased the odds of suicidality directly and indirectly by increasing risk for depression, for both boys and girls. Boys contending with both CV and sexual violence were particularly vulnerable to suicidality, and binge drinking was positively associated with CV for girls but negatively associated with CV for boys. Findings confirmed that CV is a pervasive issue among U.S. adolescents. A gendered approach is necessary in order to understand and address the effects of CV.

Variation in the prevalence of different forms of bullying victimisation among adolescents and their associations with family, peer and school connectedness: a population-based study in 40 lower and middle income to high-income countries (LMIC-HICs)

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of different forms of bullying victimization experiences and their association with family functioning, peer relationships and school connectedness among adolescents across 40 lower and middle income to high-income countries (LMIC-HICs). Data were drawn from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) school-based survey of adolescents aged 11–15 years, between 2013 and 2014. We estimated the weighted prevalence by categorising experiences into traditional bullying victimization only, cyberbullying victimization only, and combined traditional and cyberbullying victimization, at country and country income classification. We used multinominal logistic regression models to estimate the adjusted association with the form of bullying victimization by demographic characteristics, family functioning, peer relationships and school connectedness. Overall, 8.0% reported traditional bullying victimization only (8.8% males, 7.4% females), 2.3% of adolescents reported cyberbullying victimization only (2.1% males, 2.2% females), and 1.7% reported combined traditional and cyber bullying victimization (1.7% males, 1.8% females). All three forms of bullying victimization during adolescence were significantly associated with poor family functioning, poor peer relations and poor school connectedness. A consistent finding is that traditional bullying victimization is considerably more common among adolescents across both LMICs and HICs than cyberbullying victimization. This study also demonstrated that a significant proportion of adolescent’s experience victimization in both forms. Positive family functioning, strong peer relationships and greater school connectedness are associated with a lower risk of both forms of bullying victimization.

Cyberbullying in first-year university students and its influence on their intentions to drop out

ABSTRACT University dropout is a phenomenon of growing interest in the knowledge society. However, it is a complex phenomenon in which a variety of academic and social variables interact with each other. Cyberbullying is also something that has been the subject of increased research recently, and although it has most often been studied in primary and secondary education, it cannot be discounted from higher education. Because of that, the objective of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between intentions to complete higher education or not and having been the victim of cyberbullying. We used a sample of 1653 students at a university in Spain who were asked to respond to an adaptation of the University Violence Questionnaire (UVC), analysing the data collected via descriptive statistics and the decision tree test. The results indicated that there was a relationship between having been the victim of cyberbullying and the intention to drop out of a university course, especially when the bullying behavior was social exclusion, impersonation, or spreading sexual images without consent. This study aimed to enhance understanding of university dropout, looking at how being the victim of cyberbullying interacted with the likelihood of students finishing their courses.

Juridical Analysis About Cyberbullying Cases by Child Perpetrators Against Child Victims

This study discusses the legal protection of a child victim of cyberbullying and a child perpetrator. This research raised a case where a child with the initial “Z” who became a victim of cyberbullying from her schoolmate with the initial “S”. The research method used is the normative-juridical method: processing legal materials collected through a literature review.This study aims to determine the applicable law (legal protection) against the child victims of cyberbullying, based on Law No.35 of 2014 in conjunction with Law No.11 of 2008. In terms of the child perpetrator of cyberbullying, the criminal justice system of the children must be based on Law No. 11 of 2012.The result shows that “Z”, the child victim of Cyberbullying, has received positive legal protection in Indonesia based on Article 76C of Law 35/2014, and Article 27 paragraph (4) juncto Article 28 paragraph (2) of Law 11/2012. Child “S” who terrorizes Child “Z” via WhatsApp may be subject to criminal sanctions in accordance to Article 80 paragraph (1) of Law 35/2014 juncto Article 45 paragraph (1) and (2) of Law 11/2008 junctis Article 81 of Law 11/2012. This case criminal sanctions can be imposed on Child “S” with Law 11/2012.

Cybervictimization and Depression among Adolescents: Coping Strategies as Mediators.

Studies have shown the relationships among cybervictimization, coping strategies, and depression, but no study has examined the mechanism that links the three variables. Accordingly, this study used the transactional model of stress and coping theory as a conceptual framework and proposed that coping strategies are mediators for the effects of cybervictimization on depression. A total of 387 adolescents were recruited by using the purposive sampling method. The results showed that cybervictimization is not directly associated with depression. All the coping strategies are found to be associated with cybervictimization, but only the avoidant coping strategy is the statistical mediator for the effects of cybervictimization on depression. This study’s findings suggest that the transactional model of stress and coping theory may provide a framework in the area of cyberbullying and recommend more actions to be taken in order to reduce the use of avoidance coping strategies among victims of cyberbullying.