The Effect of Parental Control on Cyber-Victimization in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Impulsivity and High-Risk Behaviors

Reactions of adolescent cyber bystanders toward different victims of cyberbullying: the role of parental rearing behaviors

BACKGROUND

Group-based situations are common settings for cyberbullying, making bystander responses crucial in combating this issue. This study investigated how adolescent bystanders respond to various victims, including family members, friends, teachers, and celebrities. This study also examined how different parenting styles influenced children's cyber bystander involvement.

METHODS

This study employed data from a cross-sectional school survey covering 1,716 adolescents aged 13-18 years from public and vocational schools in China collected in 2022. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to measure demographic characteristics, cyberbullying experiences, and parental rearing behaviors in predicting bystander reactions.

RESULTS

The findings showed that middle school students preferred to "ask for help" while high school students tended to choose "call the police" when witnessing cyberbullying incidents. Bystanders growing up with parental rejection and overprotection, having previous cyberbullying victimization experiences, where the victims were disliked by them, exhibited fewer defensive reactions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has implications for future research and practices involving parental involvement in cyber bystander interventions, which could provide implications for future practice in designing specific intervention programs for cyberbullying bystander behavior. Future research and interventions against cyberbullying may provide individualized training including parents' positive parenting skills and parent-child interactions.

Relationships Among Self-Esteem, Bullying, and Cyberbullying in Adolescents: A Systematic Review

The current systematic review explored relationships among self-esteem, bullying, and cyberbullying in adolescents. Three databases were used to search for articles pertaining to mental health, health care, and the social sciences. Keywords, including "bully," "victim," "victimization," "harassment," "aggression," and "abuse," were used to describe victims of cyberbullying and locate relevant articles. A total of 861 articles were found during the initial search, 110 were assessed for eligibility, and 10 ultimately met inclusion criteria. Most studies found correlations among self-esteem, bullying, and cyberbullying. Self-esteem was linked to being a victim of cyberbullying but not to being a perpetrator of cyberbullying or bullying in general. Students with high self-esteem at the beginning of the school year were more likely to become bullies as they got older, whereas those with low self-esteem were less likely to do so. In addition, self-esteem was found to have direct negative effects on victimization and cybervictimization, and victimization and cybervictimization were found to have direct negative effects on peer difficulties. Findings suggest that adolescent bullying and cyberbullying perpetration may be mitigated by higher levels of self-esteem. Parents should pay close attention to and limit adolescents' exposure to bullying and cyberbullying and stressful life events. Psychiatric nurses should routinely screen adolescents and develop interventions to enhance self-esteem and reduce bullying and cyberbullying. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(5), 11-17.].

The Association between Family Environment and Subsequent Risk of Cyberbullying Victimization in Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Family environment and parental monitoring have long been recognized as two important factors associated with adolescents' psychological development. Studies have suggested a potential link between parenting style/parental engagement and the likelihood of bullying victimization among adolescents. Nonetheless, no studies to date have investigated the association between family environment and the subsequent risk of cyberbullying victimization among adolescents. In this study, we assessed the association between family environment (eg, parental monitoring and family conflict) and subsequent risk of cyberbullying victimization using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD).

METHODS

We used multivariable logistic regressions to assess the association between parental monitoring and family conflict at year 1 and the subsequent risk of cyberbullying victimization at year 2 in 10,410 eligible ABCD study participants.

RESULTS

Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, study sampling weights and study site, higher levels of parental monitoring at year 1 were associated with a lower reported past 12-month (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.50-0.75) history of cyberbullying victimization at year 2. Higher levels of family conflict at year 1 were associated with a higher risk of reported past 12-month history (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.04-1.16) of cyberbullying victimization one year later.

CONCLUSION

Higher levels of parental monitoring and lower levels of family conflict are associated with a subsequent lower risk of cyberbullying victimization among adolescents. Cyberbullying victimization preventive programs should advocate for increased parental monitoring and minimize family conflict at home to reduce the risks of cyberbullying victimization among adolescents.

Adults and Family as Supportive of Adolescent Sexual Development in the Age of Smartphones? Exploring Cybersexual Violence Victimization, Pornography Use, and Risky Sexual Behaviors

Among adolescents, engagement in risky sexual behavior is an important public health concern. Research has begun to explore the impact of adolescents' online experiences with their social and behavioral health as approximately 95% of adolescents have access to a smartphone connected to the internet. However, little research has specifically examined how online experiences impact sexual risk behaviors among adolescence. To fill gaps in the existing research, the current study sought to investigate the association between two potential risk factors and three sexual risk behavior outcomes. We examined how experiencing cybersexual violence victimization (CVV) and using pornography during early adolescence was associated with condom use, birth control use, and use of alcohol and drugs before sex among U.S. high school students (n = 974). Additionally, we explored multiple forms of adult support as potential protective factors of sexual risk behaviors. Our findings suggest that CVV and porn use may be associated with risky sexual behaviors for some adolescents. In addition, parental monitoring and support from adults at school may be two ways to support healthy adolescent sexual development.

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.

Short Version of V.A. Losenkov’s Impulsivity Questionnaire: Development and Validation

Impulsivity is considered as a personality trait opposite to purposefulness and perseverance; accordingly, a high level of impulsivity is inherent in people with insufficient self-control in communication and activity. Impulsivity as a subject of research is of both theoretical and practical interest; however, methods for diagnosing it are poorly represented in the Russian-language psychological literature. The purpose of the research is to study the factor structure, reliability and validity of the short version of V.A. Losenkov’s impulsivity questionnaire developed by the authors. The first part of the study involved 967 subjects (M = 21.2, SD = 7.7), including 652 women (M = 21.6, SD = 7.8) and 315 men (M = 20.6, SD = 7.4); in the second part, 233 respondents participated, including 126 women (M = 21.4, SD = 7.7) and 107 men (M = 20.8, SD = 7.3). The study was conducted using: (1) the full version of V.A. Losenkov’ impulsivity questionnaire; (2) Barratt’s impulsiveness questionnaire (adapted in Russian by S.N. Enikolopov and T.I. Medvedeva); (3) A.V. Zverkov and E.V. Eidman’s volitional self-control questionnaire; (4) A. Assinger’s aggressiveness questionnaire; and (5) questionnaires on assertiveness, smartphone addiction and social media addiction developed by the authors. The abridged version of V.A. Losenkov’s impulsivity questionnaire (Imp-15) includes 15 tasks that make up a four-factor model of impulsivity obtained through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Compared with the original version of the questionnaire, the abridged version has better psychometric properties. The abridged Imp-15 version satisfies the standard requirements for questionnaires in terms of their reliability, namely: internal consistency, high task distinguishability and retest reliability. The questionnaire also meets key validity criteria in terms of its design, content, “obviousness,” actual and predictive credibility, constructability and convergence. Impulsivity diagnosed by the Imp-15 questionnaire positively correlates with the data of the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11), with aggressiveness, smartphone addiction and social media addiction; however, it is negatively associated with self-control and assertiveness. The resulting four-factor model of impulsivity has good reliability indicators and is in full agreement with the obtained data. The authors present the data of psychometric testing and standardization of the abridged Imp-15 questionnaire; the appendix provides the original and abridged versions of the impulsivity questionnaire and the keys to the Imp-15 questionnaire.

The Role of Sociocultural Context in Cyberbullying in Israeli Society: Comparing Arab and Jewish Parents' Perceived Knowledge of Their Adolescent Children's Involvement in Cyberbullying

This paper examines the relationship between parental monitoring and control, parents' perceived knowledge of their adolescent's online activities, and parents' perceived knowledge of their adolescent's involvement in cyberbullying, among Israeli Jewish and Arab parents of adolescents. The 407 participants consisted of two groups: Jewish (n = 194) and Arab (n = 213) parents of adolescents in Israel, who were recruited via online social networks and completed an online survey. The self-report questionnaire included the Stattin and Kerr Parental Control and Parental Monitoring Questionnaire (Stattin & Kerr in Developmental Psychology 36:366, 2000), as well as parental knowledge of child online activities and witnessing and experiencing cyberbullying. Parental monitoring and control were perceived as higher by Jewish than Arab parents, while no group differences were found for perceived child disclosure or parental knowledge of adolescent online activity. Parental knowledge of the adolescent witnessing cyberbullying was higher among Arab than Jewish parents, while the opposite was found for parental knowledge of the adolescent experiencing cyberbullying. Parental knowledge of the adolescent both witnessing and experiencing cyberbullying was related to group affiliation, lower parental education, and higher parental perceived knowledge of the adolescent's online activities. Parents' perceived knowledge of the adolescent witnessing cyberbullying was further related to higher perceived adolescent disclosure. The study increases our understanding of perceived parental involvement and its relationship with parents' perceived knowledge of the adolescent's involvement in cyberbullying in a diverse and multicultural society.

Risk Behaviors, Family Support, and Emotional Health among Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Israel

We investigated the prevalence of risk behaviors among Israeli adolescents (tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Associations between different risk behaviors were examined and so was whether specific characteristics could predict risk behaviors in adolescents. The study consisted of 1020 Israeli adolescents aged 15-18. Study subjects completed an online survey between the first and second lockdowns in Israel (April 2020 to September 2020). Participants reported the frequency at which they engaged in four different risky behaviors: general risky behavior, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption (binge drinking), and cannabis use. The most prevalent risky behavior in the sample was binge drinking (33.8%). The four measured risky behaviors were significantly correlated. Among participants who had previously engaged in a risky behavior assessed, most did not change the behavior frequency during the pandemic. All independent variables (sociodemographic characteristics, family support, and emotional, health excluding friends' support, physical activity volume, and coronavirus restrictions) were significantly different between participants engaging vs. not engaging in risky behaviors. Our findings suggest that family support is one of the most influential factors in preventing risky behavior during the pandemic, and they emphasize the importance of family-based interventions with children and adolescents from elementary to high school.

Hate and harassment in academia: the rising concern of the online environment

Hostile online communication is a global concern. Academic research and teaching staff are among those professionals who routinely give public comments and are thus vulnerable to online attacks. This social psychological and criminological study investigated online harassment victimization among university researchers and teachers. Survey participants (N = 2,492) were university research and teaching staff members from five major universities in Finland. Victimization was assessed with a 20-item inventory. The study included a wide range of both background and general measures on well-being at work. Participants also took part in an online experiment involving a death threat targeting a colleague. Results showed that 30% of the participants reported being victims of online harassment during the prior 6 months. Victims were more often senior staff members, minority group members, and from the social sciences and humanities. Those active in traditional or social media were much more likely to be targeted. Victims reported higher psychological distress, lower generalized trust, and lower perceived social support at work than non-victims. Individuals who were targeted by a colleague from their work community reported higher post-traumatic stress disorder scores and a higher impact of perceived online harassment on their work compared to other victims. In the experimental part of the study, participants reported more anxiety when a close colleague received a death threat. Participants also recommended more countermeasures to a close colleague than to an unknown person from the same research field. Results indicate that online harassment compromises well-being at work in academia. There is an urgent need to find ways of preventing online harassment, both in workplaces and in society at large.

Cyber-dating abuse in young adult couples: Relations with sexist attitudes and violence justification, smartphone usage and impulsivity

Technologies have become important for interaction in couples. However, in some cases, controlling and aggressive behaviors can occur in the context of virtual interactions in couples; this is known as cyber-dating abuse (CDA). Identifying factors linked to CDA, as perpetrator and victim, are relevant for its prevention; therefore, more research is needed in this novel field of study. To contribute to the literature, our first goal was to analyze the associations among certain risk factors for CDA perpetration and victimization of, i.e., sexist attitudes and violence justification, problematic smartphone usage and impulsivity; sex and age were also considered. The second goal was to study whether there were differences in direct aggression and control, from the perpetrator and victim perspectives, with consideration of the above-mentioned risk factors. Third, differences in the diverse range of control behaviors and direct aggression between women and men were explored. To this end, 697 young adults (aged between 18 and 35 years; 548 women) completed self-report questionnaires that allowed assessment of the above-mentioned variables. The results showed that, among the wide range of CDA behaviors, indirect ones such as control behaviors were the most common. The highest level of control was strongly associated with the inability to manage behaviors under certain emotional states, especially negative ones, along with problematic smartphone usage. Sex differences were also observed: men displayed more sexist attitudes and violence justification, and perceived that they were more controlled by their partners. Regarding CDA behaviors, men and women showed differences in control (e.g. men considered themselves to be more controlled in terms of location and status updates), and direct aggression (e.g. men used more insults and humiliations than women). The results were discussed in terms of the importance of better understanding these risk factors to attenuate the increasing prevalence of CDA in relationships.

Longitudinal associations between cybervictimization, anger rumination, and cyberaggression

Adolescents' involvement in cyberbullying has been a growing public health concern for some time. Cybervictimization and cyberaggression are two phenomena that previous research has often shown to be associated. However, longitudinal research into these associations and also into potential risk factors for these phenomena is less common. Anger rumination is a proven risk factor for aggressive behavior, but the relationship between anger rumination and victimization is not clear. The present longitudinal study investigated the associations between cybervictimization, anger rumination and cyberbullying in a sample of 3017 adolescents (MW1  = 13.15; SD = 1.09; 49% girls) from 7th to 9th grade. The European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire and the Anger Rumination Scale were administered in four waves with 6 months intervals over a total period of 18 months. The associations between the variables were analyzed with a cross-lagged model. We found that: cybervictimization predicted anger rumination and cyberaggression; anger rumination was associated with later increases in both cybervictimization and cyberaggression: but involvement in cyberaggression predicted neither subsequent involvement in cybervictimization, nor in anger rumination. In addition, cybervictimization was found to mediate the association between anger rumination and cyberaggression. This study expands the understanding of the factors associated with cybervictimization and cyberaggression, and its results indicate that intervention programs should focus on boosting self-control to decrease impulsive behavior and protocols to prevent and intervene in cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying Among Adolescents and Children: A Comprehensive Review of the Global Situation, Risk Factors, and Preventive Measures

Background: Cyberbullying is well-recognized as a severe public health issue which affects both adolescents and children. Most extant studies have focused on national and regional effects of cyberbullying, with few examining the global perspective of cyberbullying. This systematic review comprehensively examines the global situation, risk factors, and preventive measures taken worldwide to fight cyberbullying among adolescents and children. Methods: A systematic review of available literature was completed following PRISMA guidelines using the search themes "cyberbullying" and "adolescent or children"; the time frame was from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2019. Eight academic databases pertaining to public health, and communication and psychology were consulted, namely: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Communication & Mass Media Complete, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. Additional records identified through other sources included the references of reviews and two websites, Cyberbullying Research Center and United Nations Children's Fund. A total of 63 studies out of 2070 were included in our final review focusing on cyberbullying prevalence and risk factors. Results: The prevalence rates of cyberbullying preparation ranged from 6.0 to 46.3%, while the rates of cyberbullying victimization ranged from 13.99 to 57.5%, based on 63 references. Verbal violence was the most common type of cyberbullying. Fourteen risk factors and three protective factors were revealed in this study. At the personal level, variables associated with cyberbullying including age, gender, online behavior, race, health condition, past experience of victimization, and impulsiveness were reviewed as risk factors. Likewise, at the situational level, parent-child relationship, interpersonal relationships, and geographical location were also reviewed in relation to cyberbullying. As for protective factors, empathy and emotional intelligence, parent-child relationship, and school climate were frequently mentioned. Conclusion: The prevalence rate of cyberbullying has increased significantly in the observed 5-year period, and it is imperative that researchers from low and middle income countries focus sufficient attention on cyberbullying of children and adolescents. Despite a lack of scientific intervention research on cyberbullying, the review also identified several promising strategies for its prevention from the perspectives of youths, parents and schools. More research on cyberbullying is needed, especially on the issue of cross-national cyberbullying. International cooperation, multi-pronged and systematic approaches are highly encouraged to deal with cyberbullying.

Emotional Intelligence, Bullying, and Cyberbullying in Adolescents

Bullying and cyberbullying are important global issues with negative consequences for physical and mental health in education. The objective of this study was to analyze to what extent some dimensions of emotional intelligence predict certain manifestations of bullying and cyberbullying in adolescents. The total number of subjects recruited in compulsory secondary education schools, was 309 (53.1% female). Their ages ranged from 12 to 16 (M = 14.17, SD = 1.4). The used instruments were the school violence questionnaire and the emotional coefficient inventory; the study design was cross-sectional. Results showed that the score increases on some scales (adaptability, stress management, and interpersonal) involved a greater risk of increasing the likelihood of social perception the different manifestations of school violence. However, in the general mood, the increase in this variable score implied lower perceiving in likelihood of violent behavior. It is important to take into account preventive actions aimed at improving school life and, above all, to alleviate difficulties in managing stress, adaptability, and interpersonal relationships.

From Digital Mental Health Interventions to Digital "Addiction": Where the Two Fields Converge

Scientific literature from the last two decades indicates that, when it comes to mental health, technology is presented either as panacea or anathema. This is partly because researchers, too frequently, have planted themselves either in the field of digital mental health interventions (variably called "telepsychiatry", "digital therapeutics", "computerized therapy", etc.), or in that of the problems arising from technology, with little cross-fertilization between the two. Yet, a closer look at the two fields reveals unifying themes that underpin both the advantages and dangers of technology in mental health. This article discusses five such themes. First, the breakneck pace of technology evolution keeps digital mental health interventions updated and creates more potentially problematic activities, leaving researchers perennially behind, so new technologies become outdated by the time they are studied. Second, the freedom of creating and using technologies in a regulatory vacuum has led to proliferation and choice, but also to a Wild-West online environment. Third, technology is an open window to access information, but also to compromise privacy, with serious implications for online psychology and digital mental health interventions. Fourth, weak bonds characterize online interactions, including those between therapists and patients, contributing to high attrition from digital interventions. Finally, economic analyses of technology-enabled care may show good value for money, but often fail to capture the true costs of technology, a fact that is mirrored in other online activities. The article ends with a call for collaborations between two interrelated fields that have been-till now-mutually insular.