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Li L, Zhou J, McManus S, Stewart R, Roberts A. Social media users' attitudes toward cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with gender and verification status. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1395668. [PMID: 38939225 PMCID: PMC11210603 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1395668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Social media platforms such as Twitter and Weibo facilitate both positive and negative communication, including cyberbullying. Empirical evidence has revealed that cyberbullying increases when public crises occur, that such behavior is gendered, and that social media user account verification may deter it. However, the association of gender and verification status with cyberbullying is underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by examining how Weibo users' gender, verification status, and expression of affect and anger in posts influence cyberbullying attitudes. Specifically, it investigates how these factors differ between posts pro- and anti-cyberbullying of COVID-19 cases during the pandemic. Methods This study utilized social role theory, the Barlett and Gentile Cyberbullying Model, and general strain theory as theoretical frameworks. We applied text classification techniques to identify pro-cyberbullying and anti-cyberbullying posts on Weibo. Subsequently, we used a standardized mean difference method to compare the emotional content of these posts. Our analysis focused on the prevalence of affective and anger-related expressions, particularly examining variations across gender and verification status of the users. Results Our text classification identified distinct pro-cyberbullying and anti-cyberbullying posts. The standardized mean difference analysis revealed that pro-cyberbullying posts contained significantly more emotional content compared to anti-cyberbullying posts. Further, within the pro-cyberbullying category, posts by verified female users exhibited a higher frequency of anger-related words than those by other users. Discussion The findings from this study can enhance researchers' algorithms for identifying cyberbullying attitudes, refine the characterization of cyberbullying behavior using real-world social media data through the integration of the mentioned theories, and help government bodies improve their cyberbullying monitoring especially in the context of public health crises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lifang Li
- School of Journalism and Communication, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiandong Zhou
- Division of Health Science, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Sally McManus
- Violence and Society Centre, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Stewart
- Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Angus Roberts
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Huang N, Zhang S, Mu Y, Yu Y, Riem MME, Guo J. Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Increase or Decrease the Global Cyberbullying Behaviors? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. TRAUMA, VIOLENCE & ABUSE 2024; 25:1018-1035. [PMID: 37177992 PMCID: PMC10185480 DOI: 10.1177/15248380231171185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Although cyberbullying is an emerging public health problem, it is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic affects cyberbullying. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cyberbullying, to estimate the global cyberbullying prevalence and to explore factors related to cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic. We searched the Medline, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Eric, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, Chinese CNKI, and EBSCO databases to identify relevant empirical studies published between 2019 and 2022. A total of 36 studies were included. Quality assessment, meta-analyses, and subgroup analyses were conducted. The pooled prevalences were 16% for overall cyberbullying, 18% for victimization and 11% for perpetration during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pooled prevalence of postpandemic cyberbullying perpetration is lower in children than in adults. In addition, both virus- and lockdown-related stressors were the main factors contributing to cyberbullying. The COVID-19 crisis may reduce cyberbullying, and the pooled prevalence of cyberbullying during the pandemic in adults is higher than in children and adolescents. In addition, the transient-enduring factor model of postpandemic cyberbullying built in this review could help identify people at high risk of cyberbullying during public health emergencies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yakun Mu
- Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yebo Yu
- Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Madelon M. E. Riem
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud
University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The
Netherlands
| | - Jing Guo
- Peking University, Beijing, China
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Bacong AM, Yellow Horse AJ, Lee E, Ðoàn LN, Saw A. Modes of COVID-19 Information and Vaccine Hesitancy Among Asian Americans: The Moderating Role of Exposure to Cyberbullying. AJPM FOCUS 2023; 2:100130. [PMID: 37362393 PMCID: PMC10285202 DOI: 10.1016/j.focus.2023.100130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Introduction : COVID-19 vaccination is an important public health intervention to curb the pandemic's magnitude and spread, and racial discrimination is a key predictor of COVID-19 preventive behavior, vaccine hesitancy, and uptake. This study evaluated the association of vaccine hesitancy with various modes of information on COVID-19 (i.e., online, social media) and the moderating role of cyberbullying among Asian Americans. Methods : We used population-weighted data from the nationwide Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander COVID-19 Needs Assessment Survey, which was conducted from January to April 2021 (unweighted n=3,127). We examined the association of various modes of COVID-19 information and vaccine hesitancy, moderated by exposure to cyberbullying. Results : In general, 16% of Asian Americans reported vaccine hesitancy; 26% reported experiencing cyberbullying. Asian Americans reported receiving the majority of COVID-19 information from online sources (75%) and social media (52%). In unadjusted models, receiving information online (OR=0.46, 95%CI=0.33, 0.62, p<.001), via social media (OR=0.80, 95%CI=0.52, 0.93, p<.05), and via broadcast (OR=0.60, 95%CI=0.44, 0.81, p<.001) were significantly associated with a lower vaccine hesitancy. However, reporting any cyberbullying was associated with increased vaccine hesitancy (OR=1.39, 95%CI=1.02, 1.90, p<.05). The protective effects for COVID-19 information modes remained when accounting for health and sociodemographic factors, while the effect of cyberbullying was no longer statistically significant. Cyberbullying moderated the protective effect of broadcast information only, so those who received information via broadcast and reported experiencing cyberbullying had similar odds of vaccine hesitancy compared to those who did not receive information via broadcast. Conclusions : Online, social media, and broadcast remain important sources of information about COVID-19 for Asian Americans; however, experiencing cyberbullying can reduce the effectiveness of these sources in the uptake of the vaccine. COVID-19 information promotion strategies for Asian Americans must account for the role of cyberbullying in social media campaigns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian M. Bacong
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
- Stanford University Center for Asian Health Research and Education, Stanford, California
| | | | - Eunhye Lee
- Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Lan N. Ðoàn
- Department of Population Health, Section for Health Equity, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Anne Saw
- Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
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Zhou L, Wei L, Chu Y, Xie Q. College Graduates' Negative Life Experiences, Coping Strategies and Enlightenment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study in China. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2023; 16:1811-1829. [PMID: 37215701 PMCID: PMC10199699 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s406987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective The current study aimed to explore comprehensively college graduates' negative life experiences, coping strategies, and enlightenment in a qualitative way. Methods This was a qualitative study. Purposeful sampling was used to select 31 college graduates majoring in various subjects from a Chinese University. The one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted online through Tencent QQ/WeChat and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A phenomenological approach was used to guide this research in the data collection and analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes across interviews around their negative life experiences, coping strategies, and enlightenment. Results College graduates' negative life experiences were mainly focused on three aspects: negative work experience (eg, lack of adaptation, busy schedule, low salary), negative personal life experience (eg, multiple pressure, psychological problems, the hardship of life), and negative social life experience (eg, the incomprehension of those around you, complex interpersonal relationship, social complexity). The coping strategies they used can be classified into two categories: emotion-focused strategies (eg, accepting reality, self-persuasion, keeping a positive attitude), and problem-focused strategies (eg, goal-setting, asking for help to solve the problem, persistence). As for life enlightenment, six themes emerged: accept life, strive to life, love life, cherish life, recognize life, and learn to live. Conclusion College graduates' negative experiences came from multiple levels, and they use multiple coping strategies to deal with the challenges. Our results provide important guidance for researchers and policymakers to design effective and targeted intervention programs to improve college graduates' coping abilities in response to negative life experiences and help them better transition from school to work. Specifically, future research and intervention to promote college graduates' mental health should target various social-ecological levels, focus on promoting coping from an ecological perspective, as well as facilitate post-traumatic growth to help them grow from negative life experiences and cope positively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Zhou
- Department of Health Management, School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lai Wei
- Department of Health Management, School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yalin Chu
- Department of Health Management, School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qinhong Xie
- Center for Mental Health Research, School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, People’s Republic of China
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Homayounnia Firouzjah M, Pourazar M, Kakvandi SN. Mental and physical conditions associated with physical inactivity among Farhangian University students during virtual classes: A cross-sectional study. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1094683. [PMID: 36993882 PMCID: PMC10040784 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1094683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BackgroundThe level of mobility and general health has decreased among students in virtual classes during COVID-19 pandemic. The present cross-sectional study aims to investigate the mental and physical conditions related to inactivity among the students of Farhangian University during the virtual classes.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study. 475 students (214 females and 261 males) were selected as the statistical sample of the study based on Morgan’s Table from Farhangian University, Iran. The statistical population includes students studying at Farhangian University of Mazandaran province that using Convenience Sampling the sample size based on Morgan’s Table, 475 students consisting of 214 females and 261 males were randomly selected as the statistical sample of the study. The research instruments of this study include International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Saehan Caliper (SH5020), Coopersmith Self-Esteem Scale, Beck Depression Questionnaire, and Nordic Skeletal and Muscular Disorders Questionnaire. For data analysis, independent sample t-test was employed to compare two groups. All analyses were conducted using spss24 software.ResultsWith respect to students’ skeletal-muscular disorders, findings proved that both genders suffered physical conditions during virtual classes. The research findings showed that the average weekly activity level among women is 634 Met/min with a standard deviation of ±281, and the average weekly activity level among men is 472 Met/min with a standard deviation of ±231. Fat percentage by gender, men’s average fat percentage is 47.21% (S. D ± 4.74) and women’s average fat percentage is 31.55% (S. D ± 4.37). Also, the self-esteem scores of male and female students were obtained 29.72 and 29.43, respectively, and the difference between the two was considered significant (p < 0.05). On the other hand, 67% (No. 25) of female students and 32% (No. 12) of male students suffered from high depression. Also, based on students’ skeletal-muscular disorders, findings of our study showed that both genders suffered physical conditions during virtual classes.ConclusionThis study suggests increasing the level of physical activity to reduce body fat mass, increase mental health and reduce skeletal disorders, which can be properly accomplished through university planning and prioritizing the health of male and female students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morteza Homayounnia Firouzjah
- Department of Physical Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
- *Correspondence: Morteza Homayounnia Firouzjah,
| | - Morteza Pourazar
- Department of Physical Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
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Wu Q, Zhang TM. Association between self-compassion and cyber aggression in the COVID-19 context: roles of attribution and public stigma. BMC Psychol 2023; 11:66. [PMID: 36899411 PMCID: PMC9999325 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01100-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-compassion is negatively associated with aggressive behaviors. However, the association between self-compassion and cyber aggression toward stigmatized people (e.g., people infected with COVID-19) has not been investigated in the COVID-19 context and the mechanism underlying this association remains underexplored. On the basis of emotion regulation theory and attribution theory, this study examined the indirect effects of self-compassion on cyber aggression toward people infected with COVID-19 through attribution and public stigma of COVID-19. Data were collected from 1162 Chinese college students (415 male, mean age = 21.61 years). Participants completed an online questionnaire including measurement of the key variables and basic demographic information. Results indicated that self-compassion was negatively associated with cyber aggression through the lower attribution of COVID-19 and lower public stigma of COVID-19. A sequential pathway from the attribution of COVID-19 to public stigma of COVID-19 was identified in the relationship between self-compassion and cyber aggression. Our findings are consistent with emotion regulation theory and attribution theory, which posit that emotion regulation strategies are associated with interpersonal mistreatment through cognitive pathways. These findings suggest that emotional self-regulation strategies can be used to reduce cyber aggression toward stigmatized people by reducing attribution and public stigma in the COVID-19 context. Self-compassion improvement could be target for the interventions aiming at alleviating public stigma and interpersonal mistreatment toward stigmatized people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinglu Wu
- Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Tian-Ming Zhang
- Department of Social Work, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, BaoShan District, Shanghai, 200444, China.
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António R, Guerra R, Moleiro C. Cyberbullying during COVID-19 lockdowns: prevalence, predictors, and outcomes for youth. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 43:1-17. [PMID: 36845205 PMCID: PMC9938688 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04394-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic posed additional challenges to the safety and well-being of young people who were forced to engage in online learning, spending more time than ever online, and cyberbullying emerged as a notable concern for parents, educators, and students. Two studies conducted online examined the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of cyberbullying episodes during the lockdowns due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Portugal. Study 1 (N = 485) examined the prevalence of cyberbullying among youth during the first lockdown period in 2020, focusing on predictors, symptoms of psychological distress and possible buffers of the effects of cyberbullying. Study 2 (N = 952) examined the prevalence of cyberbullying, predictors, and symptoms of psychological distress during the second lockdown period in 2021. Results revealed that most participants experienced cyberbullying, symptoms of psychological distress (e.g., sadness and loneliness) during the lockdowns were higher for those who experienced than for those who did not experience cyberbullying, and those who experienced cyberbullying with higher levels of parental and social support showed lower levels of symptoms of psychological distress (i.e., suicidal ideation). These findings contribute to the existing knowledge on online bullying among youth, specifically during COVID-19 lockdowns. Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04394-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel António
- CIS-IUL, ISCTE- Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Avª das Forças Armadas, Ed. ISCTE, CIS-IUL, Lisboa, 1649-026 Portugal
| | - Rita Guerra
- CIS-IUL, ISCTE- Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Avª das Forças Armadas, Ed. ISCTE, CIS-IUL, Lisboa, 1649-026 Portugal
| | - Carla Moleiro
- CIS-IUL, ISCTE- Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Avª das Forças Armadas, Ed. ISCTE, CIS-IUL, Lisboa, 1649-026 Portugal
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Panskyi T, Korzeniewska E. Statistical and clustering validation analysis of primary students' learning outcomes and self-awareness of information and technical online security problems at a post-pandemic time. EDUCATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES 2022; 28:6423-6451. [PMID: 36415781 PMCID: PMC9670056 DOI: 10.1007/s10639-022-11436-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The authors decided to investigate the impact of the pandemic period and the resulting limitations in Polish primary school online security education. The first part of the study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' educational learning outcomes in information and Internet security. The study has been performed via a student-oriented survey of 20 questions. The statistical analysis confirms the significant difference before and after the pandemic in several questions at most. Nevertheless, this justifies the statement that pandemics had a positive impact on post-pandemic Internet-related security education. The second part of the study has been focused on students' perception and self-awareness of cyberspace problems. For this purpose, the authors used novel majority-based decision fusion clustering validation methods. The revealed results illustrate the positive tendency toward the students' self-awareness and self-confidence of online security problems and e-threats before, during and after the challenging pandemic period. Moreover, the presented validation methods show the appealing performance in educational data analysis, and therefore, the authors recommended these methods as a preprocessing step that helps to explore the intrinsic data structures or students' behaviors and as a postprocessing step to predict learning outcomes in different educational environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taras Panskyi
- Institute of Applied Computer Science, Lodz University of Technology, Stefanowskiego 18/22, 90-537 Lodz, Poland
- Institute of Electrical Engineering Systems, Lodz University of Technology, Stefanowskiego 18/22, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
| | - Ewa Korzeniewska
- Institute of Applied Computer Science, Lodz University of Technology, Stefanowskiego 18/22, 90-537 Lodz, Poland
- Institute of Electrical Engineering Systems, Lodz University of Technology, Stefanowskiego 18/22, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
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Wang C, Havewala M, Cheong Y, Chen J. Cybervictimization, Mental Health literacy and depressive symptoms among College students: a cross-cultural investigation. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03357-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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10
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Liu Z, Yang R, Liu H. Concern on cyber violence and suicide during COVID-19 pandemic. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:956328. [PMID: 36159912 PMCID: PMC9489897 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.956328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwei Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, The Third People's Hospital of Fuyang, Fuyang, China
| | - Rongchun Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Third People's Hospital of Fuyang, Fuyang, China
| | - Huanzhong Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
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Chen WT, Lee FR, Yamada P. Asian Americans suffer within-community discrimination related to COVID-19. Nurs Outlook 2022; 70:688-690. [PMID: 35902313 PMCID: PMC9159973 DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2022.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Ti Chen
- School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA,Corresponding author: Wei-Ti Chen, School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Franco R. Lee
- Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Palos Verdes, CA
| | - Poy Yamada
- School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine, CA
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