Problem behaviours, traditional bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents: longitudinal analyses

The relationship between cyber upward social comparison and cyberbullying behaviors: A moderated mediating model

Based on the General Strain Theory and the moderating role model of social support, the present study explored the relationship between cyber upward social comparison and cyberbullying and further explored the mediating role of moral justification and the moderating role of online social support. This model was examined with 660 Chinese college students. Participants completed questionnaires regarding cyber upward social comparison, cyberbullying, moral justification, and online social support. After basic demographic variables were controlled, cyber upward social comparison was significantly and positively associated with cyberbullying. Moral justification played a mediating role in the relationship between cyber upward social comparison and cyberbullying. The mediating effect of moral justification on the relationship between cyber upward social comparison and cyberbullying was moderated by online social support. The results of this study will provide references for the prevention and intervention of cyberbullying.

School-Age Bullying Victimization and Perpetration: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies and Research

Twenty-three samples from 22 longitudinal studies assessing both bullying perpetration and bullying victimization were selected from a sample of 1,408 candidate studies using several prespecified criteria (i.e., participants ≤ 18 years of age; self-reported bullying victimization and perpetration assessed with a lag of at least 1 month but no more than 24 months; not a treatment or program study). A random effects meta-analysis was then performed on the concurrent and cross-lagged longitudinal associations between bullying victimization and perpetration in the 23 samples. A large pooled effect size (r = .40, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [.34, .45]) was obtained for the concurrent association between bullying victimization and perpetration, whereas modest to moderate effect sizes (victimization to perpetration: r = .20, 95% CI [.17, .24]; perpetration to victimization: r = .21, 95% CI [.17, .24]) were obtained for the two cross-lagged longitudinal correlations. The results did not change when analyses were conducted separately for traditional bullying and cyberbullying outcomes. These findings indicate that bullying victimization and perpetration correlate strongly and that their cross-lagged longitudinal relationship runs in both directions, such that perpetration is just as likely to lead to future victimization as victimization is to lead to future perpetration. Different theoretical models are proposed in an effort to explain these results: cycle of violence, general strain, and social cognitive theories for victimization leading to perpetration and risky lifestyles, routine activities, and peer selection theories for perpetration leading to victimization.

Relationships among cyberbullying, parental attitudes, self-harm and suicidal behavior among adolescents: results from a school-based survey in Vietnam

Background

The rapid and widespread development of social networking sites has created a venue for an increase in cyberbullying among adolescents. Protective mechanisms and actions must be considered, such as how proximal family factors can prevent self-harm and suicidal behaviors among adolescents exposed to cyberbullying. The present study examined the associations among cyberbullying, parental attitudes, self-harm, and suicidal behaviors after adjusting for confounding factors.

Methods

Data were obtained from a school-based survey of randomly selected grade 6 students (11 years old) performed in Hue City, Vietnam, in 2018. A total of 648 students were interviewed face-to-face using a structured questionnaire based on the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). Univariate, multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed at 95% confidence level.

Results

After adjusting for gender, perceived academic pressure, unhealthy behaviors, use of Internet devices, school bullying, and family living situation, a significantly higher risk of self-harm was detected among those who had experienced cyberbullying (adjusted odd ratio [AOR] = 2.97; 95% CI, 1.32–6.71). Parental acceptance retained a significant association with self-harm and suicidal behavior (P < 0.05) while parental concentration did not exhibit a significant association in a multivariable logistic regression model. In addition, suicidal ideation and suicidal planning were associated with an interaction effect between cyberbullying and parental concentration (AOR = 0.37; 95% CI, 0.15–0.94 and AOR = 0.23; 95% CI, 0.06–0.87, respectively).

Conclusion

Cyberbullying has become an important phenomenon associated with self-harm among young adolescents in developing countries, and parental acceptance in proxy of parental attitude was positively related with severe mental health issues among adolescents. Thus, sufficient attention in efforts to promote adolescent health should be focused on family factors in the digital era of developing countries.

Efectos del maltrato docente en el acoso escolar entre pares

En el estudio, se analizan las relaciones entre el maltrato docente-estudiante, clima social de la escuela, apoyo docente y el acoso entre estudiantes. Participaron 1 577 estudiantes (800 chicos y 777 chicas), con una edad promedio de 12.94 años (DE = 1.77 años), pertenecientes a 64 escuelas secundarias públicas de Sonora, México. Se calcula un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales con apoyo del AMOS. De los resultados, se infiere que el maltrato docente favorece de forma directa e indirecta, mediante sus efectos negativos, en el clima escolar y el apoyo docente y la violencia entre pares. Se concluye que el maltrato docente afecta negativamente la dinámica de las escuelas y favorece el acoso escolar. Finalmente, se discuten implicaciones teóricas y prácticas de los hallazgos.

The Role of Sexual Images in Online and Offline Sexual Behaviour With Minors

Sexual images have long been associated with sexual interest and behaviour with minors. The Internet has impacted access to existing content and the ability to create content which can be uploaded and distributed. These images can be used forensically to determine the legality of the behaviour, but importantly for psychiatry, they offer insight into motivation, sexual interest and deviance, the relationship between image content and offline sexual behaviour, and how they might be used in online solicitation and grooming with children and adolescents. Practitioners will need to consider the function that these images may serve, the motivation for their use and the challenges of assessment. This article provides an overview of the literature on the use of illegal images and the parallels with existing paraphilias, such as exhibitionism and voyeurism. The focus is on recent research on the Internet and sexual images of children, including the role that self-taken images by youth may play in the offending process.

Annual research review: Harms experienced by child users of online and mobile technologies: the nature, prevalence and management of sexual and aggressive risks in the digital age

AIMS AND SCOPE

The usage of mobile phones and the internet by young people has increased rapidly in the past decade, approaching saturation by middle childhood in developed countries. Besides many benefits, online content, contact or conduct can be associated with risk of harm; most research has examined whether aggressive or sexual harms result from this. We examine the nature and prevalence of such risks, and evaluate the evidence regarding the factors that increase or protect against harm resulting from such risks, so as to inform the academic and practitioner knowledge base. We also identify the conceptual and methodological challenges encountered in this relatively new body of research, and highlight the pressing research gaps.

METHODS

Given the pace of change in the market for communication technologies, we review research published since 2008. Following a thorough bibliographic search of literature from the key disciplines (psychology, sociology, education, media studies and computing sciences), the review concentrates on recent, high quality empirical studies, contextualizing these within an overview of the field.

FINDINGS

Risks of cyberbullying, contact with strangers, sexual messaging ('sexting') and pornography generally affect fewer than one in five adolescents. Prevalence estimates vary according to definition and measurement, but do not appear to be rising substantially with increasing access to mobile and online technologies, possibly because these technologies pose no additional risk to offline behaviour, or because any risks are offset by a commensurate growth in safety awareness and initiatives. While not all online risks result in self-reported harm, a range of adverse emotional and psychosocial consequences is revealed by longitudinal studies. Useful for identifying which children are more vulnerable than others, evidence reveals several risk factors: personality factors (sensation-seeking, low self-esteem, psychological difficulties), social factors (lack of parental support, peer norms) and digital factors (online practices, digital skills, specific online sites).

CONCLUSIONS

Mobile and online risks are increasingly intertwined with pre-existing (offline) risks in children's lives. Research gaps, as well as implications for practitioners, are identified. The challenge is now to examine the relations among different risks, and to build on the risk and protective factors identified to design effective interventions.

The differential impacts of episodic, chronic, and cumulative physical bullying and cyberbullying: the effects of victimization on the school experiences, social support, and mental health of rural adolescents

Few studies have examined the impacts of past, current, and chronic physical bullying and cyberbullying on youth, especially in rural settings. This study augments this scant literature by exploring the school experiences, social support, and mental health outcomes for rural, middle school youth. The participants for this 2-year longitudinal study were 3,127 youth from 28 middle schools. Participants were classified as nonvictims, past victims (i.e., victimized during Year 1 but not Year 2), current victims (i.e., victimized during Year 2 but not Year 1), and chronic victims (i.e., victimized during both Year 1 and Year 2). Findings illustrated that chronic victimization resulted in the lowest levels of school satisfaction, social support, future optimism, and self-esteem. Chronic victims also reported the highest levels of school hassles, perceived discrimination, peer rejection, anxiety, depression, and externalizing behaviors. In terms of episodic victimization, current year victimization was associated with worse outcomes than past year victimization. Implications and limitations were discussed.

Longitudinal and reciprocal relations of cyberbullying with depression, substance use, and problematic internet use among adolescents

PURPOSE

To analyze the temporal and reciprocal relationships between being a victim of cyberbullying (CB) and three frequent problems during adolescence: depressive symptoms, substance use, and problematic Internet use; also, to analyze whether the relationship between CB and these psychological and behavioral health problems differs as a function of being only a victim or being both bully and victim.

METHOD

A total of 845 adolescents (mean age = 15.2, SD = 1.2) completed measures at T1 and at T2, 6 months apart. The relationship among variables was analyzed using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

CB victimization at T1 predicted depressive symptoms and problematic Internet use at T2, and higher depressive symptoms and more substance use at T1 predicted more CB victimization at T2. However, the relationships of CB predicting substance use and problematic Internet use predicting CB were not significant. Bully-victims presented higher levels than victims of all three problem variables, both at T1 and T2.

CONCLUSIONS

CB is predictive of some significant psychological and behavioral health problems among adolescents. Intervention efforts should pay attention to these in the prevention and treatment of consequences of CB.