Association of Cyberbullying and Internet Use Disorder

Tracing knowledge diffusion trajectories in the research field of cyberbullying

In today's digital age, cyberbullying has emerged as a pervasive issue that affects individuals across various social media platforms and digital communication channels. This review explores the developmental trajectory of cyberbullying as an interdisciplinary academic field, employing a unique combination of co-word analysis and main path analysis (MPA) across a substantial body of 5183 documents. This integrated methodological approach allows for a nuanced examination of the evolution of themes and influential works within the realm of cyberbullying research. The findings highlight a complex landscape where initial focus areas, such as the behavioral and psychological triggers of cyberbullying, progressively expand towards exploring effective preventive measures and intervention strategies. Key themes identified include the impact of digital literacy, the dual role of social media as both a vector and a tool against cyberbullying, and the potential of technological advancements in detecting and mitigating cyberbullying. This comprehensive mapping and analysis deepens our understanding of cyberbullying and highlights the dynamic nature of this field, suggesting new directions for future research and practical applications to effectively address cyberbullying across various social and technological contexts. This study represents a pioneering effort in synthesizing a broad spectrum of research to offer detailed insights into the changing dynamics of cyberbullying, marking a significant contribution to both academic knowledge and practical approaches to handling cyberbullying.

[Digital media use and mental health in adolescents-a narrative review]

The opportunities and hazards of digital media, especially with regard to children and adolescents, are currently the subject of frequent family, school, and social debates.Digital platforms can support the accomplishment of adolescent developmental tasks through gaming and social exchange as well as communication and contact promotion, learning, and health promotion, and are widely used for entertainment. In Germany, almost all adolescents own a smartphone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an intensification of the use of digital games, social media, and streaming offers by adolescents was observed. Exposure to age-uncensored content such as the depiction of violence, extreme political views, and conspiracy theories, as well as personal attacks through cyberbullying, unfiltered initiation of contact including cybergrooming, dysfunctional role models, and addiction-promoting aspects are associated with mental health risks.Cyberbullying affects about 5% of children and adolescents in Germany. A bidirectional relationship with mental health could be shown. The gaming disorder is the first digital media use disorder (DMUD) that has been included in the ICD-11 and thus internationally recognized as a mental illness. Adolescents are affected disproportionately often and experience impairments in their mental development and levels of functioning.Services are available to promote adolescent media literacy, and their expansion, structured application, and evaluation are needed. Evidence-based prevention and treatment options for DMUD are currently largely lacking. Their development, review, and dissemination should be further supported.

Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Cyberbullying and Cybervictimization Prevalence among Children and Adolescents? A Systematic Review

In light of the alarming results emerging from some studies and reports on the significant increase in aggressive online behaviors among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, the current research aimed at providing a more detailed evaluation of the investigations focusing on the cyberbullying prevalence rates published between 2020 and 2023. To this purpose, systematic searches were conducted on four databases (Web of Science, APA PsycInfo, Scopus and Google Scholar), and following PRISMA guidelines, 16 studies were included and qualitatively reviewed. Although studies were characterized by a large variety in cyberbullying operationalization and measurement, and by different methodologies used for data collection, the prevalence rates of the involvement in cyberbullying and/or cybervictimization generally revealed opposite trends: an increase in many Asian countries and Australia and a decrease in Western countries. The findings were also discussed by considering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, some suggestions were provided to policy makers for promoting prevention and intervention anti-cyberbullying programs in school contexts.

The relationship between parental neglect and cyberbullying perpetration among Chinese adolescent: The sequential role of cyberbullying victimization and internet gaming disorder

Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization have been common public health issues that have impaired the development of adolescent physical and mental health. Abundant research has proven associations between negative parental factors and cyberbullying perpetration. However, there is a paucity of research exploring the impact of parental neglect on cyberbullying and its internal mechanisms. Based on the parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory) and the general aggression model (GAM), the present study constructs a sequential mediation model in which parental neglect is related to adolescent cyberbullying perpetration through cyberbullying victimization and internet gaming disorder (IGD). Using random cluster sampling, a total of 699 middle school students (M age = 14.18 years, SD = 1.22, and 324 boys) were recruited from five schools in three provinces on mainland China. The participants completed questionnaires regarding parental neglect, cyberbullying perpetration, cyberbullying victimization, and IGD. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that parental neglect was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration. The mediating effects of cyberbullying victimization and IGD in this relationship are significant both individually and jointly. The current findings have important implications for enlightening families and schools to pay particular attention to adolescents' experiences of parental neglect and provide them with timely feedback and assistance. This will contribute to the prevention and reduction of adolescent involvement in cyberbullying perpetration.

Exploring the Importance of Gender, Family Affluence, Parenting Style and Loneliness in Cyberbullying Victimization and Aggression among Romanian Adolescents

The increasing phenomenon of cyberbullying among adolescents needs parental, educational, and social intervention. The study aimed to identify the prevalence of cyberbullying among Romanian adolescents and the importance of gender, family-related factors, self-esteem, and parental styles in both victims and perpetrators. A total of 835 adolescents aged 10-19 years were included in the research. An online questionnaire was specially constructed for this research, gathering socio-demographic and family-related data along with information about cyberbullying as a victim, aggressor, or bystander, and strategies used in order to deal with it. Four psychological scales were used to evaluate self-esteem, loneliness, cybervictimization/cyberaggression, and parental style. (3) Results showed that the most common age for a personal smartphone is M = 10.24 ± 2.43. The main reasons why students use these networks are primarily chatting and fun and less for academic tasks. During the week, adolescents spend 5.53 ± 2.75 h on social media, while during weekends, the duration of smartphone usage almost doubles. Girls are the most common victims of cyberbullying, and less than three-quarters of students believe that aggressors can be both girls and boys, and only a quarter of them have reported an incident. Family affluence, the relationship with parents and classmates, the presence of loneliness and sociodemographic factors were found to be in a strong relationship with the presence of aggression and/or victimization among adolescents. Cyberaggression was found to be positively correlated with the aggressive parental style and negatively correlated with the compassionate and avoidant parental styles. Results are crucial for identifying cyberbullying actors and preventing the negative effects of cyberbullying on psychological, social, and academic life for students, parents, and teachers.