Cyberbullying in Social Media and Online Games among Chinese College Students and Its Associated Factors

Prevalence and predisposing factors of digital game addiction and cyberbullying in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This research was conducted to measure the prevalence of digital game addiction and cyberbullying and their predisposing factors among adolescents.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional design.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 1002 adolescents (the mean age was 15.77 (SD = 1.08), and 95.1 % boys) from a vocational high school. Data were collected through a questionnaire, the Digital Game Addiction Scale, and the Revised Cyberbullying Inventory-II. Associations were analyzed with multiple logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

The prevalence of digital game addiction was 41.5 %. The risk of digital game addiction was higher among adolescents who were cyberbullies (2.3 times), those who played games for 4 h or more (5.1 times), and those who played action/adventure (1.4 Times) and sci-fi games (1.5 times). The risk of cyberbullying was higher in adolescents who were addicted to digital games (2.3 times) or used the Internet for 5 h or more (2.2 times). Meeting on the Internet (2 times) and being a 9th-grader (2 times) compared to 10th and 11th-graders increased the risk of being a cyberbully.

CONCLUSIONS

The study concluded that about half of the adolescents were addicted to digital games, and the majority of them were cyberbullies. Common predisposing factor for digital game addiction and cyberbullying was found to be time spent on the Internet.

The relationships between mental health and social media addiction, and between academic burnout and social media addiction among Chinese college students: A network analysis

Background

The rapid growth in the use of social media applications on the internet has significant impacts on mental health, especially among university students. This study aims to explore the network characteristics and core symptoms between social media addiction, mental health issues (anxiety, depression, stress), and academic burnout. Understanding these relationships is crucial for enhancing psychological interventions and improving academic performance in the digital age.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted with undergraduates and doctoral students from Air Force Medical University. Participants (n = 432) completed self-report scales, including the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, Academic Burnout Inventory, and Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Network analysis was performed using R to model the relationships between study variables, employing Gaussian Graphical Models and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator technique for robust network estimation.

Results

Bridge Expected Influence results indicate that "Depression" is consistently the most central node, playing a critical role in the network connecting social media addiction, academic burnout, and psychological stress. The study reveals a significant positive correlation between social media addiction and both academic burnout and mental health issues. Particularly, excessive use of social media can distract students, leading to academic burnout, and exacerbating feelings of anxiety and depression.

Conclusion

Social media addiction has a significant impact on the psychological health and academic performance of college students. This study highlights the potential risks associated with social media usage behaviors and provides a scientific basis for developing related intervention measures. These interventions aim to help college students reduce their dependence on social media, thereby restoring a healthy state of life and study.

Cross-sectional study of cybervictimisation and non-suicidal self-injury among college students in China: a chain mediation effect of emotion dysregulation and social exclusion

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between cybervictimisation and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviours among college students in China, with a particular focus on the mediating roles of emotion dysregulation and social exclusion.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of college students.

SETTING

The study was performed among college students from public universities in Hunan Province, China, between October 26 and November 26, 2023.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1467 college students aged 19.52±1.16 years participated in the survey.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Data were collected through an online questionnaire that included a general information form, the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory, the Brief Cyberbullying and Cybervictimisation Scale, the Social Exclusion Questionnaire for Chinese Undergraduates and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale.

RESULTS

The study sample consisted of 1467 college students, with a mean age of 19.52±1.16 years. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between NSSI behaviours and cybervictimisation (r=0.58, p<0.01), social exclusion (r=0.64, p<0.01) and emotion dysregulation (r=0.69, p<0.01). Multivariate regression analysis identified significant predictors of NSSI behaviours, including gender (β=0.06, p<0.05), being a left-behind child (β=-0.20, p<0.05), being the only child (β=0.07, p<0.05), cybervictimisation (β=0.32, p<0.001), emotion dysregulation (β=0.41, p<0.001) and social exclusion (β=0.15, p<0.001). Mediation effect analysis revealed a chain mediation effect where cybervictimisation influenced NSSI behaviours through the mediating roles of emotion dysregulation and subsequent social exclusion (all p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirms previous research by highlighting the positive relationship between cybervictimisation and NSSI behaviours, and advances the field by identifying a chain mediation effect involving emotion dysregulation and social exclusion among this relationship. These findings highlight the critical need to incorporate strategies for managing both emotion dysregulation and social exclusion in the prevention and intervention of NSSI behaviours among adolescents exposed to cybervictimisation.

Gender differences in acute and perceived stress, bullying, and academic motivation among nursing and midwifery students

BACKGROUND

College-aged students are at risk for experiencing negative events that may influence their future health and life. Those negative events or stressors may vary in type and severity. Stress and bullying are prevalent among nursing students that may affect their academic motivation. Our aim was to examine the gender differences in acute and perceived stress, bullying, and academic, motivation among nursing and midwifery students in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design was utilized in this study to examine 391 nursing and midwifery students in four different universities in Saudi Arabia. The following scales were used to collect data: the college students acute stress scale, perceived stress scale, bullying behaviors in nursing education, and short version of academic motivation scale.

RESULTS

Students reported relatively low acute stress and moderate perceived stress. Students did not generally experience considerable bullying. Only female students reported that they experience significant bullying in form of attacking academic motivation. Academic motivation among participating students were relatively high. Female students reported higher scores than male students on all variables; all differences are statistically significant except for bullying.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study contribute to the literature on the prevalence of stress and bullying among nursing and midwifery students and their influence on academic motivation. Also, the results provide further evidence to the gender differences in stress, bullying, and academic motivation among them. The study highlights the importance of supporting nursing and midwifery students, specifically female student, by providing supportive and encouraging environment to help them succeed in their study and love their future career.

The SHIELD Framework: Advancing Strength-Based Resilience Strategies to Combat Bullying and Cyberbullying in Youth

Bullying and cyberbullying are critical global issues that significantly affect the mental health and behavioral well-being of youth. This article explores the complex challenges posed by these forms of aggression and introduces a strength-based model for health and mental health professionals to address these issues with impacted youth holistically. Grounded within findings from a scoping review of the literature, the SHIELD framework emphasizes Strengths, Healing, Interventions, Empowerment, Learning, and Development, offering a comprehensive approach for identifying and supporting youth impacted by bullying and cyberbullying. SHIELD emphasizes collaboration among health professionals, schools, families, and communities. By integrating empirical evidence and best practices from school-based approaches to bullying prevention, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), this framework provides a roadmap for creating safer, more inclusive environments for youth while prioritizing their mental health and overall well-being in the face of bullying and cyberbullying. A case study illustrates the framework's practical application and future directions are proposed to guide further empirical investigation and stimulate innovative approaches to addressing the complexities of bullying and cyberbullying.

Prevalence of cyberbullying involvement and its association with clinical correlates among Chinese college students

BACKGROUND

Cyberbullying refers to a modern form of bullying that could be practiced electronically or on the Internet. This study conducted a cross-sectional survey to explore different types of cyberbullying involvement (CI) and the associations of CI with demographic characteristics and mental health problems among Chinese college students.

METHODS

A total sample of 18,578 Chinese college students were recruited (68.1 % female, mean age = 20.07 years) from October 17 to 29, 2023. All participants completed self-reported web-based questionnaires on demographic characteristics, CI, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.

RESULTS

More than a quarter of participants (27.5 %) have been involved in cyberbullying: specifically speaking, 10.1 % cybervictims, 4.7 % cyberbullies, and 12.7 % both (cyberbully-victims). Males, younger age, left-behind experiences, individuals with poorer family economic status, adolescents with chronic physical illness, and those with family history of mental disorders are more likely to experience CI. Unlike participants without CI, cybervictims and cyberbully-victims reported a higher risk of sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Cyberbullies also have a higher rate of sleep disturbance and depression than their peers who are not involved in cyberbullying.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that CI is widespread among Chinese college students, and CI is associated with the high reported rates of a series of psychopathology. This study highlights the significance of implementing anti-cyberbullying interventions specifically targeted at college students. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of monitoring changes in students' mental health status throughout the intervention process.

Association between school bullying type and the risk of eating disorders among Chinese college students: the mediating role of body dissatisfaction

BACKGROUND

The link between school bullying and eating disorders is a complex issue that is poorly understood globally, and is further complicated by the distinct cultural nuances within China. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the association between different types of bullying and the risk of eating disorders among college students in Shantou City, China. Additionally, this study explores the mediating role of body dissatisfaction in the relationships between bullying roles and the risk of eating disorders.

METHODS

The present study employed a convenience sampling technique to recruit college students aged 16 years or older from a university in Shantou. The survey encompassed socio-demographic data, as well as measures of bullying and the risk of eating disorders. Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test, logistic regression, chi-square test, and mediation analysis were used to analyze the results.

RESULTS

A total of 1643 students were investigated in this study, revealing a prevalence of the risk of eating disorders at 29.21%. Additionally, the prevalence of bullying was found to be 5.78% for bullies, 24.83% for victims, and 28.36% for bully-victims. Furthermore, all types of bullying showed a significant positive correlation with the risk of eating disorders. Notably, gender differences were observed in the associations among social manipulation, cyber victimization, cyber perpetration, and the risk of eating disorders, with males exhibiting stronger correlations. Body dissatisfaction plays a mediating role between bullying-victims and the risk of eating disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

A positive association has been observed between the type of school bullying and the risk of eating disorders among college students in Shantou. Additionally, gender and body dissatisfaction have been identified as significant factors that contribute to the relationship between school bullying and the risk of eating disorders.

The prevalence of cyberbullying and the association between cyberbullying emotional exhaustion and perception of collective efficacy among Chinese college students

OBJECTIVE

With the rapid development of information and communications technology, the prevalence of cyberbullying and its influences on mental health among college students have received increasing attention. The purpose of this study was to survey the prevalence of cyberbullying in Chinese college students and to investigate the association between cyberbullying, emotional exhaustion and the perception of collective efficacy.

METHODS

The study sample included 5315 respondents from ten different colleges in Liaoning Province. Their demographic characteristics and characteristics of online behaviors and instruments including a Cyberbullying Scale with 12 items, the Emotional Exhaustion measuring scale, and the Perception of Collective Efficacy Scale, were employed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization was 26.45 % (1406/5315). Younger male college students who had more active online lives were more likely to be cyberbullying victims. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that being a cyberbullying victim (odds ratio, OR = 2.188; 95%CI, 1.841-2.600, p < 0.001) was associated with emotional exhaustion. Perceptions of collective efficacy (PCE) is negatively associated with cyberbullying and, thus, alleviate emotional exhaustion and mediate the negative effect of emotional exhaustion after it occurs.

CONCLUSION

Cyberbullying occurs quite frequently among Chinese college students. Cyberbullying is a predictor of emotional exhaustion. PCE play a bidirectional role before and after cyberbullying occurs. Our study highlights the importance of the identification of potential cyberbullying victims and of the provision of early interventions in cyberbullying among Chinese college students to improve their mental health.

Cybervictimization and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Chinese College Students: an Exploration Through the Lens of Experiential Avoidance Model

Purpose

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a growing public health concern among college students, with cybervictimization (CV) emerging as a significant contributing factor. Grounded in the experiential avoidance theory, this study investigates the mediating roles of cognitive fusion and negative emotions in the relationship between CV and NSSI, providing new insights into these key variables.

Methods

A convenience sample of 457 undergraduate students (29% male; mean age 18.36±0.66 years) from two universities in Fujian Province participated in this study. Data were collected using the Cyberbullying Victimization Scale, Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Scale. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 25.0, while the mediating effects were analyzed using Process 3.5.

Results

(1) Significant positive correlations were found among CV, cognitive fusion, negative emotions, and NSSI (p < 0.01). (2) CV was directly associated with NSSI (β = 0.22, p < 0.001) and positively predicted both cognitive fusion (β = 0.17, p < 0.001) and negative emotions (β = 0.15, p < 0.01). Additionally, cognitive fusion (β = 0.16, p < 0.01) and negative emotions (β = 0.11, p < 0.05) significantly predicted NSSI. (3) Mediation analyses revealed that cognitive fusion and negative emotions mediated the CV-NSSI relationship through three pathways: CV→cognitive fusion→NSSI (mediation effect = 0.026), CV→negative emotions→NSSI (mediation effect = 0.02), and CV→cognitive fusion→negative emotions→NSSI (mediation effect = 0.01).

Conclusion

The study confirms that CV influences NSSI indirectly through cognitive fusion and negative emotions, supporting the experiential avoidance model. These findings underscore the importance of addressing cognitive and emotional processes in interventions aimed at reducing NSSI among college students.

Using AI-Based Virtual Companions to Assist Adolescents with Autism in Recognizing and Addressing Cyberbullying

Social media platforms and online gaming sites play a pervasive role in facilitating peer interaction and social development for adolescents, but they also pose potential threats to health and safety. It is crucial to tackle cyberbullying issues within these platforms to ensure the healthy social development of adolescents. Cyberbullying has been linked to adverse mental health outcomes among adolescents, including anxiety, depression, academic underperformance, and an increased risk of suicide. While cyberbullying is a concern for all adolescents, those with disabilities are particularly susceptible and face a higher risk of being targets of cyberbullying. Our research addresses these challenges by introducing a personalized online virtual companion guided by artificial intelligence (AI). The web-based virtual companion's interactions aim to assist adolescents in detecting cyberbullying. More specifically, an adolescent with ASD watches a cyberbullying scenario in a virtual environment, and the AI virtual companion then asks the adolescent if he/she detected cyberbullying. To inform the virtual companion in real time to know if the adolescent has learned about detecting cyberbullying, we have implemented fast and lightweight cyberbullying detection models employing the T5-small and MobileBERT networks. Our experimental results show that we obtain comparable results to the state-of-the-art methods despite having a compact architecture.

The Effects of Covert Narcissism on Chinese College Students Cyberbullying: The Mediation of Hostile Attribution Bias and the Moderation of Self-Control

Purpose

The prevalence of cyberbullying has increased along with the growth of social media, which has brought about many adverse effects on individual development. The current study aimed to explore the connection between covert narcissism and cyberbullying and to test the roles of hostile attribution bias and self-control in the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying.

Materials and Methods

A total of 672 Chinese college students filled up questionnaires measuring covert narcissism, cyberbullying, hostile attribution bias, and self-control.

Results

The results indicated that covert narcissism positively and significantly predicted cyberbullying. Hostile attribution bias partially mediated the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying. Additionally, self-control moderated the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying. Specifically, the positive predictive effect of covert narcissism on cyberbullying gradually weakened as self-control improved.

Conclusion

This study explored the underlying mechanism of cyberbullying and found that covert narcissism could affect cyberbullying through hostile attribution bias. Self-control moderated the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying. The results have significant implications for the intervention and prevention of cyberbullying and additional evidence for the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying.

Did the prevalence of traditional school bullying increase after COVID-19? Evidence from a two-stage cross-sectional study before and during COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 has had a range of adverse effects on the behavior and mental health of adolescents globally, including bullying, anxiety and depression. However, there is a lack of comparative studies on the changes of school bullying before and during COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the changes in traditional bullying before and during COVID-19 pandemic and reveal the related risk factors in Shantou, China.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Two samples of secondary school students were collected in 2018 and 2021 in Shantou, respectively.

METHODS

Bullying history and risk behaviors of students were measured in the past six months. The χ² test was used to analyze differences in baseline information and bullying types. The binary logistic regression with Forward LR method was used to analyze factors that affect the risk of bullying victimization and perpetration before and during COVID-19.

RESULTS

A total of 5782 secondary school students were included, 3071 before COVID-19 pandemic and 2711 during COVID-19. The prevalence of different types of victimization and perpetration all increased during COVID-19 (P < 0.001). Boarding, being a lower secondary school student (as opposed to upper secondary school), being male (as opposed to female), drinking, and playing violent video games were shared risk factors for bullying victimization and perpetration. Living in an urban (as opposed to rural and island) was a risk factor for perpetration. Smoking was a risk factor for perpetration. All differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that the prevalence of bullying victimization as well as perpetration increased during COVID-19. It suggests that we need to pay more attention to traditional school bullying prevention and control in China in the pandemic context.

The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy

Background

Bystander intervention can protect victims from harm in cyberbullying. Previous studies have found that the severity of cyberbullying incidents is one of the important factors affecting decisions to intervene. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this effect.

Purpose

The current study explored the effect of the severity of cyberbullying incidents on bystander intention to intervene on social network sites (SNSs) among college students (Experiment 1), the mediating role of feelings of responsibility (Experiment 2) and the moderating role of empathy (Experiment 3).

Patients and Methods

We presented cyberbullying incidents with different levels of severity through scenarios including fictive Weibo news reports and comments. Participants were exposed to a fictive cyberbullying incident and asked to complete a questionnaire including measures of the variables of interest.

Results

Our results showed that the severity of incidents positively affected bystander intention to intervene through the mediation of feelings of responsibility. Empathy moderated the effect of incident severity on bystander intention to intervene.

Conclusion

The results of the current study help to understand the behavior of bystanders in cyberbullying and they provide a practical reference for intervention in cyberbullying incidents.

Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia

This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with cyberbullying and social media addiction. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 medical students from a public university in Kuching, Malaysia. The instruments used in this study included the cyberbullying questionnaire survey, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21-item (DASS-21). The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization was 24.4%, whilst 13.0% reported cyberbullying perpetration over the past six months. Male gender was positively associated with both cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization, whilst social media addiction was positively associated with cybervictimization. Psychological motives such as positive attitudes toward cyberbullying and gaining power were associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Cybervictimization doubled the tendency to depression (aOR 2.50, 95% CI [1.23, 5.08], p = 0.012), anxiety (aOR 2.38, 95% CI [1.29, 4.40], p = 0.006), and stress (aOR 2.85, 95% CI [1.41, 5.77], p = 0.004), whilst social media addiction was associated with a higher tendency to depression (aOR 1.18, 95% CI [1.10, 1.26], p < 0.001), anxiety (aOR 1.15, 95% CI [1.08, 1.22], p < 0.001), and stress (aOR 1.21, 95% CI [1.12, 1.32], p < 0.001). Medical schools in Malaysia need policies and guidelines against cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying among college students in a Chinese population: Prevalence and associated clinical correlates

Objectives

Cyberbullying is quite common in adolescents and college students, and it influences mental health in many aspects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullying in Chinese college students and to look for related factors.

Methods

Eight thousand and ninety-eight college students aged 17-26 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. We collected information of their sociodemographic data, depression (evaluated by Self-Rating Depression Scale), anxiety (evaluated by Self-Rating Anxiety Scale), lifetime suicidal behaviors (including suicidal ideation, suicidal plans, and suicide attempts), and experiences of cyberbullying for the past 12 months by online questionnaires.

Results

The prevalence of cyberbullying for the past 12 months was 7.82% (633/8,098) among college students. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that sex (odds ratio, OR = 0.522, 95%CI = 0.433-0.629, p < 0.001), suicide attempts (OR = 2.164, 95%CI = 1.589-2.948, p < 0.001), depression (OR = 2.372, 95%CI = 1.602-3.512, p < 0.001), and anxiety (OR = 1.911, 95%CI = 1.305-2.800, p = 0.001) were independently associated with cyberbullying.

Conclusion

Cyberbullying is very common among college students in Hunan Province, China. Besides, being male, suicide attempts, depression and anxiety were independently associated with cyberbullying, which highlights the importance of paying attention to cyberbullying and addressing anxiety, depression, and suicidal behaviors among college students to better improve their mental health and prevent suicide.

Characterization of Cyberbullying Victimization and Perpetration Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

Cyberbullying is an extremely damaging form of interpersonal violence. Little is yet known about cyberbullying behaviors in the child and youth population during the COVID-19 pandemic and what effect this reduction in face-to-face social interactions has had on an increase in socialization via the Internet and cyberbullying. The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in young people between the ages of 12 and 27 years attending two secondary schools in southern Spain (N = 733) to examine differences regarding sociodemographic characteristics, academic performance, and digital device use (independent variables) in the experiences of cybervictimization, cyberperpetration, and adverse psychological effects (dependent variables). Logistic regression models were constructed for each of the dependent variables including the independent variables mentioned above. More than 50 percent of the sample were victims of cyberbullying. Females and the LGBTIQ+ Community were at greater risk of being cybervictims and suffer adverse psychological effects. A total of 22.8 percent of the students reported having been victims and 26.5 percent perpetrators of cyberbullying for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, but no other major differences were observed. These findings point out that cyberbullying must be prioritized in public policy as part of an overall strategy for combating violence in childhood and adolescence, as well as gender-based and discriminatory violence.

Family and Educational Strategies for Cyberbullying Prevention: A Systematic Review

Cyberbullying can be described as a form of bullying carried out by an individual or a group through digital media with the intention to harm others. It has been recognized as a public health issue recently; however, of the vast literature published in recent years on the phenomenon, only a small part concerns strategies adopted to prevent and combat cyberbullying, and the effectiveness of these strategies appears to be scarce. We conducted a systematic review of the literature published in the last five years about different interventions studied to prevent and contrast cyberbullying. Our results show how most of the strategies currently developed focus on the educational aspect, involving schools and families. Other authors describe technology-based practices to set programs to reduce and prevent cyberbullying through the usage of digital instruments, the same used by minors themselves. Finally, remaining tactics use a more comprehensive approach, mixing tools already in use in the aforementioned strategies. Cyberbullying requires wide-ranging methods to combat it, involving the contribution of mental health professionals, educators, and digital experts cooperating synergically. Prevention and contrast instruments should be defined, implemented, tested, and combined in order to deal with cyberbullying.

Cumulative childhood trauma and cybervictimization among Chinese college students: Internet addiction as a mediator and roommate relationships as a moderator

Existing studies have found that childhood trauma is a risk predictor of cybervictimization, but few studies have explored the relationship between cumulative childhood trauma and college students' cybervictimization. This study explored the relationship and the roles of Internet addiction and Internet victimization between them. A total of 854 college students (568 females, M age = 18.92 years, SD = 0.86) completed a survey including the Short Form of Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Cyberbullying Inventory, the Young's Internet Addiction Scale, and the revised Roommate Relationships Questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) cumulative childhood trauma was significantly positively associated with cybervictimization; (2) Internet addiction played a mediating role between cumulative childhood trauma and cybervictimization; and (3) roommate relationships played a moderating role between cumulative childhood trauma and cybervictimization, as well as Internet addiction and cybervictimization. The research findings provide a theoretical and practical basis for the prevention and intervention of college students' cybervictimization.

Indian government initiatives on cyberbullying: A case study on cyberbullying in Indian higher education institutions

In the digitally empowered society, increased internet utilization leads to potential harm to the youth through cyberbullying on various social networking platforms. The cyberbullying stats keep on rising each year, leading to detrimental consequences. In response to this online threat, the Indian Government launched different helplines, especially for the children and women who need assistance, various complaint boxes, cyber cells, and made strict legal provisions to curb online offenses. This research evaluates the relevant initiatives. Additionally, a survey is conducted to get insights into cyberbullying in higher education institutions, discussing multiple factors responsible for youth and adolescents being cyberbullied and a few measures to combat it in universities/colleges.

From pity to numbness: Social exclusion moderates the relationship between trait empathy and bystanders' aggressive tendencies in cyberbullying

Studies on cyberbullying have revealed an inconsistent relationship between trait empathy and bystanders' aggressive tendencies towards victims. We believe that these studies have overlooked the role of social exclusion. We infer that high-severity social exclusion suppresses the negative relationship between trait empathy and bystanders' aggressive tendencies. In Study 1, 226 participants read a news report concerning a singer's humiliation by netizens due to lack of talent. The results revealed that trait empathy predicted lower aggressive tendencies towards the singer for participants with fewer experiences of social exclusion. However, trait empathy was unrelated to aggressive tendencies for participants with more experiences of social exclusion. In Study 2, 146 participants were randomly assigned to a low-severity or a high-severity social exclusion condition and were required to recall their experiences of low- or high-severity social exclusion, respectively. The results demonstrated that in the low-severity condition, trait empathy was negatively associated with participants' aggressive tendencies towards the singer and this relationship was mediated by state empathy. However, there was no evidence that the process was at work in the high-severity condition. This study further presents implications and directions for future research.

How Do Chinese People View Cyberbullying? A Text Analysis Based on Social Media

The rise of cyberbullying has been of great concern for the general public. This study aims to explore public attitudes towards cyberbullying on Chinese social media. Cognition and emotion are important components of attitude, and this study innovatively used text analysis to extract the cognition and emotion of the posts. We used a web crawler to collect 53,526 posts related to cyberbullying in Chinese on Sina Weibo in a month, where emotions were detected using the software “Text Mind”, a Chinese linguistic psychological text analysis system, and the content analysis was performed using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic model. Sentiment analysis showed the frequency of negative emotion words was the highest in the posts; the frequency of anger, anxiety, and sadness words decreased in turn. The topic model analysis identified three common topics about cyberbullying: critiques on cyberbullying and support for its victims, rational expressions of anger and celebrity worship, and calls for further control. In summary, this study quantitatively reveals the negative attitudes of the Chinese public toward cyberbullying and conveys specific public concerns via three common topics. This will help us to better understand the demands of the Chinese public so that targeted support can be proposed to curb cyberbullying.