Cyberbullying in Adolescents from Ecuador and Spain: Prevalence and Differences in Gender, School Year and Ethnic-Cultural Background

Peer cybervictimization and cyberaggression as a function of developmental stage during adolescence: A preliminary study

Peer cybervictimization and cyberaggression are educational and social concerns which have been extensively studied during adolescence but there is less research conducted specifically across all stages of adolescence (early, middle, late, and emerging adulthood). The objective was to analyse the prevalence of cybervictimization and cyberaggression, the roles, and the associated behaviors, depending on the stages of adolescence. The sample was composed of 7295 non-university Spanish adolescents, between 11 and 22 years old from 47 schools. The frequency of cybervictimization and cyberaggression was 22.5 % and 15 %, respectively. The highest frequencies are found in late adolescence and the lowest in emerging adulthood. Mainly, involvement increases from early to late adolescence and decreases in emerging adulthood. The magnitude of cybervictimization and cyberaggression behaviors for the roles of pure cybervictim and pure cyberaggressor is similar through all stages.

Phone addiction, cyberbullying, and mental health amongst young adults in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Smartphone addiction is a common phenomenon worldwide and within the UAE. It is related to many factors, including gender and ethnicity, and can lead to mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression. This study investigates these factors concerning smartphone addiction among young adults in the UAE.

METHODS

421 participants answered a questionnaire of validated and reliable scales measuring smartphone addiction, cyberbullying experiences, mental health, and demographic information. The average age of the participants was 21 years, and the age groups were divided into two groups. Group 1 consists of participants who are 20 years or younger, and group 2 consists of participants aged 21 or older.

RESULTS

There was a positive correlation between smartphone addiction with both anxiety and depression. A positive correlation was also found between cyberbullying victims, anxiety, and depression. Females were found to have higher levels of anxiety and smartphone addiction in comparison to males.

CONCLUSION

Smartphone addiction is a problem that connects to disorders like anxiety and depression. Conversely, cyberbullying is not directly related to smartphone addiction but is also strongly related to anxiety and depression.

Psychometric Properties of the Moral Disengagement through Technologies Questionnaire (MDTech-Q) in a Sample of Chilean University Students

In the virtual environment, hostile and aggressive comments that could negatively affect university students who often use different digital platforms are frequently observed, more than other age groups who have little or no supervision. In this sense, moral disengagement (MD) has been linked to different negative behaviors that manifest in physical interactions and which currently take place on the Internet, creating the need for instruments that specifically address MD online. The aim of this study is to adapt and validate the Moral Disengagement through Technologies Questionnaire (MDTech-Q) with Chilean university students. The sample comprised 527 university students (43.14% men, 56.86% women), with an average age of 22.09 years (SD (Standard Deviation) = 3.59) enrolled in 12 universities. First, a linguistic adaptation of the scale took place, and the surveys were applied considering ethical principles. Then, two confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed, which considered four correlated factors, and provided satisfactory indices, agreeing with the original theoretical proposal, and demonstrating suitable reliability by internal consistency. In relation to the analyses of invariance according to sex and social media use, the MDTech-Q is stable up to scalar invariance. This study provides evidence of the psychometric quality of the MDTech-Q for its use on Chilean university students.

Violence among adolescents: A study of overlapping of bullying, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, dating violence and cyberdating violence

BACKGROUND

Face-to-face and virtual violence among adolescents could lead to polyvictimisation and polyaggression. More studies are needed to simultaneously analyse various types of violence to understand the extent of involvement in violence during adolescence.

OBJECTIVE

This study explores the overlap of bullying, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, dating violence, and cyber dating violence, considering dating experience, gender, and stage of adolescence.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

This study involved 2514 Spanish middle school students (49.8 % girls) aged 11-19 years (M = 13.97, SD = 1.40).

METHODS

The design of this study was cross-sectional. Data were collected through a survey.

RESULTS

Among adolescents with no dating experience, 39.7 % were not victims, and 55.9 % were not aggressors. By contrast, among adolescents with dating experience, 7.1 % were not victims, and 10.5 % were not aggressors. Gender differences in poly-involvement were found between adolescents with and without dating experience. Girls were significantly less involved than boys as polyvictims and polyaggressors when they had no dating experience. They were significantly more involved than boys as polyvictims (9.7 %) and polyaggressors (23.9 %) in dating violence and cyber dating violence when they had dating experience. Age differences in poly-involvement were found only in adolescents with dating experience. Adolescents were more polyinvolved late than early adolescence, especially in dating violence, sexual harassment, and cyber dating violence as polyvictims (22.8 %) and polyaggressors (26.7 %).

CONCLUSIONS

Experiences of poly-involvement are diverse according to dating experience, gender, and stage of adolescence. More comprehensive peer and dating violence prevention strategies need to be designed.

How Does Parent-Adolescent Conflict and Deviant Peer Affiliation Affect Cyberbullying: Examining the Roles of Moral Disengagement and Gender

Purpose

With the widespread use of the Internet and mobile phone, cyberbullying has become a new type of bullying among adolescents. It is of great practical significance to explore the relevant factors affecting cyberbullying for prevention and intervention of adolescents’ cyberbullying. However, few studies have considered the effect of both the family and social factors on cyberbullying. Therefore, the current study examines whether the parent-adolescent conflict as a family factor and deviant peer affiliation as a social factor have an effect on adolescents’ cyberbullying, as well as the role of moral disengagement and gender.

Methods

A total of 777 middle school students (females = 336; mean age = 13.57; SD = 0.98) were surveyed by using the Parent-child Relationship Questionnaire, Deviant Peer Affiliation Questionnaire, Moral Disengagement Questionnaire and Cyber Bullying Behavior Questionnaire. SPSS21.0 was used to conduct descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and T-test, PROCESS were used to conduct significance test of moderated mediation effect on the data.

Results

Parent-adolescent conflict does not directly predict cyberbullying. Moral disengagement played a complete mediating role between parent-adolescent conflict and cyberbullying, and gender played a moderating role between moral disengagement and cyberbullying. Deviant peer affiliation directly predict cyberbullying. Moral disengagement played a partially mediating role between parent-adolescent conflict and cyberbullying, and gender played a moderating role between moral disengagement and cyberbullying.

Conclusion

Attention should be paid to the effect of moral disengagement on cyberbullying in family and social factors, as well as the role of gender.

Finding the Link between Cyberbullying and Suicidal Behaviour among Adolescents in Peninsular Malaysia

Social media engagement has contributed to the rise of cyberbullying, which has recently triggered tragic suicides among adolescents. The objective of this cross-sectional study is to determine the prevalence of cyberbullying, suicidal behaviour, and their association among adolescents in Peninsular Malaysia. The study was conducted among 1290 secondary school adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years old in Peninsular Malaysia using a self-administered and anonymous online questionnaire. Our findings reveal that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetrator is 13.7% and 3.8%, respectively. The prevalence of suicidal behaviour among adolescents is 17.1%, in which 11.9% had suicidal thoughts, 10.2% had a suicide plan, and 8.4% had made a suicide attempt. Multiple logistic regression shows that adolescents experiencing cyberbullying victimization is a significant risk factor (p < 0.001) for suicidal behaviour after adjusting for other confounders. An alarming number of adolescents in Peninsular Malaysia found to be involved in cyberbullying and its significant association with suicidal behaviour warrant the need to strengthen current interventions. Since the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, our findings make an important contribution in reporting current trends in cyberbullying and suicide among adolescents, especially when they are becoming ever-more present in cyberspaces.

A Meta-Analytic Review of Moral Disengagement and Cyberbullying

With the development of technology, cyberbullying prevalence rates are increasing worldwide, and a growing body of the literature has begun to document cyberbullying behavior. Moral disengagement is often considered a key correlate factor in cyberbullying. This article aims to conduct a meta-analysis review of the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying and some psychosocial and cultural variables. Based on the PRISMA method, a random-effects meta-analysis is employed in this study to obtain reliable estimates of effect sizes and examine a range of moderators (age, gender, measure method, and cultural background). Relevant studies, published from 2005 to February 30, 2021, were identified through a systematic search of the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Pubmed, EBSCO, and Wiley Online Library. Finally, 38 studies (N=38,425) met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis conclusion demonstrated that moral disengagement positively correlated medium intensity with cyberbullying (r=0.341). Age, gender, and cultural background had moderated the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying.

The Moderating Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Problematic Internet Use and Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Adolescents: Gender Differences

A large body of literature has identified the problematic Internet use as a risk factor for cyberbullying perpetration. Nevertheless, the studies on protective factors that may moderate this relationship are still scarce. The purpose of the present study was to examine if the emotional intelligence is a moderator in the relationship between problematic Internet use and cyberbullying perpetration. A total of 2039 Spanish adolescents between 12 to 18 years filled out three self-report questionnaires to evaluate these variables. Results indicated that cyberbullying perpetration was positively associated with problematic Internet use and negatively with emotional intelligence. On the other hand, problematic Internet use was negatively related to emotional intelligence, being this relationship stronger in girls. With respect to the possible buffering effect, emotional intelligence moderated the relation between problematic Internet use and cyberbullying perpetration in boys, especially at lower levels. These findings suggest that emotional intelligence is a personal resource which have an important protective role for the problematic Internet use in adolescents. Implications for the preventive interventions of cyberbullying perpetration are discussed.

Bullying and Cyberbullying in Primary School: The Impact of Gender and Student Academic Performance

(1) Background: This study examines school bullying and cyberbullying, which are unfortunate realities in our schools that require interdisciplinary, multidimensional educational interventions in order to enhance the quality of the educational process. (2) Methods: The study analyzes the results of the application of the School Harassment Questionnaire (CAES) to 494 students in the sixth year of primary school, aged between 11 and 13, in the Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha. The results are presented for each dimension and item in the instrument, then analyzed by gender and student academic performance. (3) Results: The results indicated statistically significant differences in the variables examined, particularly in the variable Skills for Conflict Resolution. (4) Conclusions: The use of this instrument and results such as those in this study could enhance teachers’ awareness of the reality of their classrooms, from the school climate to the relational conflicts that may be present. This allows teachers to look into preventive action to encourage the comprehensive development of all students, with tutorial action being essential.

Against Cyberbullying Actions: An Italian Case Study

The paper aimed to analyse cyberbullying knowledge and awareness among students, teachers, and parents of 22 Italian primary schools to extract elements to consider for defining successful cyberbullying prevention and management strategies in coherence with some sustainable development goals defined in the 2030 Agenda. Four different research questions have been addressed to analyse: what the level of cyberbullying diffusion is, its triggering factors, its knowledge and awareness, and how the problem is addressed. The study highlighted both the importance of adopting a collaborative perspective among the students, teachers and parents, and to prevent and solve cyberbullying problems stimulating a collective awareness about cyber safety in schools. Some generalisable lessons emerged from the study.

Cyberbullying Analysis in Intercultural Educational Environments Using Binary Logistic Regressions

The goal of this study is to analyze how religion, ethnic group, and race influence the likelihood of becoming either a cybervictim or cyberbully in intercultural educational environments. In the research, 755 students in secondary education were analyzed in the south of Spain through the Cyberbullying Scale for students with Cultural and Religious Diversity (CSCRD). The analyses were carried out using the Statistical Package SPSS and the STATA software. The results obtained from the Kruskal–Wallis H test showed significant differences according to these aspects, for both the cybervictim and cyberbully parameters. The results stemming from binary logistic regressions confirmed such differences and regarded those students who belong to the Muslim religion, the gypsy ethnic group and the Asian race as being more likely to become cybervictims. Furthermore, these analyses showed that Gypsy and Asian students were also more likely to be cyberbullies than other groups. The main conclusions state that minority groups are more likely to suffer cyberbullying in intercultural educational environments, and that students from these groups are also more likely to become cyberbullies.

The Relationship between Personal Resources and Depression in a Sample of Victims of Cyberbullying: Comparison of Groups with and without Symptoms of Depression

Previous research has highlighted the relationship between being cybervictimised and the presence of clinical symptoms, such as depression. To date, however, there has been no comparative analysis of the personal resources profiles of adolescent victims of cyberbullying with and without depressive symptoms. The current study analysed the relationship between positive personal resources and clinical symptoms in 251 adolescent victims of cyberbullying at several Spanish high schools. It examined how several positive personal resources varied in adolescent victims of cyberbullying who displayed symptoms of depression (n = 89) or did not (n = 162). Victims of cyberbullying who displayed depressive symptoms reported lower levels of personal resources (emotional intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and forgiveness) than those who did not. Logistic regression provided evidence that gratitude was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms in victims of cyberbullying, followed by emotional intelligence and optimism. These findings expand the existing literature on the role of personal resources in mental health and highlight the need for their development in youths to help them cope more effectively and function better after being cyberbullied.

Prevalence and psychosocial predictors of cyberaggression and cybervictimization in adolescents: A Spain-Ecuador transcultural study on cyberbullying

The present study aims to collect data about the prevalence of cyberbullying and the role of self-esteem, empathy, and social skills in predicting cybervictimization and cyberaggression in two different countries: Spain and Ecuador. Additionally, it compares the similarities found in both countries. A wide sample of adolescents from Secondary Education (N = 24943; mean age = 13.92; SD = 1.30, girls = 49.9%) from both countries (Spain = 14,206 and Ecuador = 10,737) took part by filling in a set of self-reports. Weighted analyses and structural equation models were used. The results revealed that 8.8% were cybervictims, 3.1% were cyberaggressors and 4.9% cybervictims-cyberaggressors in Spain; whereas 8.7% were cybervictims, 5.1% were cyberaggressors and 14.3% were cybervictims-cyberaggressors in Ecuador. Cybervictimization could be predicted in both countries by means of self-deprecation and social skills, although the meaning of some skills was different depending on the country. Cyberaggression could be predicted in both countries by means of empathy, assertiveness, and conflict-resolution skills, as well as by communicative and relational skills. Self-deprecation was a predictor of cyberaggression only in Spain. These results are discussed, and educational inferences are drawn for prevention.