Adolescent Social Media Use: Pitfalls and Promises in Relation to Cybervictimization, Friend Support, and Depressive Symptoms

Cyberbullying among secondary school students: Analyzing prediction and relationship with background, social status, and ICT use

This study explored the predictions of and relationships between background, social status, and the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in cyberbullying among 2430 secondary school students from schools affiliated with Thailand's Office of the Basic Education Commission. The stratified sampling method was used along with the Cyberbullying Questionnaire, Sociometric Status Questionnaire, Perceived Popularity Questionnaire, and ICT Use Questionnaire and data were collected through the CU Smart Sociometry web application and Google Forms. Data analysis was conducted to determine 1) demographic data using descriptive statistics; 2) correlation analysis of students' backgrounds, sociometric status, and ICT use against cyberbullying using the chi-square test; and 3) variables that predict cyberbullying among secondary school students using multinomial logistic regression. Results showed a link between cyberbullying and secondary school students' backgrounds, social status, and ICT use. Students with different backgrounds (sex and academic performance), social statuses (social preference and perceived popularity), and ICT use partook in different cyberbullying roles. Independent variables of sex, academic performance, social preference, perceived popularity, and ICT use all predicted cyberbullying by 33.3 % with statistical significance. Male students were noted to have a higher likelihood of being cyberbullies than female students, whereas female students were more likely to be cybervictims and bystanders. Moreover, students with low academic performance were more likely to be cyberbullies and cybervictims than high-performing students, with rejected students having the highest likelihood of being cyberbullies. Interestingly, the higher a student's popularity, the higher was their likelihood of being cyberbullies. Finally, cyberbullies had the highest average daily internet use, and students who had never had their guardians monitor their internet usage were more likely to be cyberbullies; students with moderate and good social media behavior were mostly bystanders.

The role of metacognitions in cyberbullying and cybervictimization among adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders: A case-control study

Cyberbullying is becoming increasingly widespread as individuals use technology more widely and frequently. Recent studies have shown a growing vulnerability for cyberbullying and cybervictimization, particularly in the adolescent population. We argue that dysfunctional metacognitions, which have been found to be prominent in various psychiatric disorders, may also play a role in predicting cyberbullying and cybervictimization over and above a variety of established factors including daily Internet use, social media use, depression and anxiety. For this purpose, we recruited 121 adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 122 adolescents diagnosed with anxiety disorders (AD) from the child and adolescent psychiatric department of 'Çankırı State Hospital' along with age and gender matched healthy controls (n = 120). Participants completed the DSM-5 Depression and Anxiety Severity Scales, the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS), the Metacognitions Questionnaire for Children (MCQ-C) and the Revised Cyberbullying Inventory-II (RCBI-II). Cybervictimization scores were found to be higher in the MDD and AD groups when compared with healthy controls. Cyberbullying scores in the MDD group were higher than healthy controls. Additionally, the Superstition, Punishment and Responsibility subdimension of the MCQ-C was a significant predictor of cybervictimization in the AD group while controlling for daily Internet use, social media use and anxiety. However, metacognitions were not associated with cyberbullying in the MDD and AD groups, as well as with cybervictimization in the MDD group. We concluded that dysfunctional metacognitions may be a preventive therapeutic target in reducing the impact of cyberbullying in adolescents with AD.

Bullying and Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization: Prospective Within-Person Associations

Bidirectional associations between bullying and cyberbullying have consistently identified during adolescence. However, little is known about how this relationship works on the within-person level, after controlling for potential overlap at the between-person level. This study examined the bidirectional longitudinal associations between bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization during 18-month period over four time points. A total of 2835 participants, aged 11 to 16 years in time 1 (50% girls; M_age = 13.13, SD = 1.06) were surveyed. Random intercept cross-lagged analyses revealed the stability of bullying perpetration and victimization. Cyberbullying victimization predicted inversely bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. The results indicate spirals of positive long-term associations between bullying (perpetration and victimization) and cyberbullying perpetration but no long-terms spirals of victimization.

Longitudinal study of teacher acceptance of mobile virtual labs

Synthesizing the advancements in technology with classroom practices depends considerably on teachers acceptance of such internet and communication technology (ICT) tools. Adequate teacher training and upgrading of their IT skills are not prioritized in developing economies leading to poor adoption of emerging technology assisted pedagogic interventions. This paper investigated the underlying characteristics of teachers acceptance of mobile friendly virtual laboratories (M-VLs) as part of a longitudinal study conducted over 5 years covering both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Systematic analysis of quantitative data from 650 chemistry teachers was carried out. Viewing through the theoretical lens of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) theory, the effects of performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), facilitating conditions (FC), hedonic motivation (HM) and habit (HA) on the behavioral intention (BI) and use behavior (UB) were scrutinized. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that PE, SI, and HA are the considerable predictors of the BI to use M-VLs and HA is the predictor of UB. The present study found HM influencing teacher's BI and UB before COVID-19. However during COVID-19 the FC influenced usage. Moreover, we found that the technology training focused on enhancing knowledge, skill and, access leads to teachers' are critical to empowering teachers and causing wider adoption.