Cybervictimization and suicidality among French undergraduate Students: A mediation model

Depression and suicidal ideation among Black individuals in Canada: mediating role of traumatic life events and moderating role of racial microaggressions and internalized racism

PURPOSE

Although suicidal ideation (SI) is a serious concern in Canada, its prevalence and related factors among Black individuals are poorly documented. Using data from the Mental Health of Black Communities in Canada project (BeCoMHeal), this study aimed to assess the prevalence of SI in Black individuals aged 15-40 years old in Canada, the mediating role of traumatic life events in the association between depression and SI, and the moderating role of racial microaggressions and internalized racism.

METHODS

Eight hundred and sixty participants aged between 15 and 40 years (Mage =24.96, SD = 6.29) completed the online questionnaire assessing sociodemographic data, depression symptoms, traumatic life events, racial microaggressions, internalized racism, and SI.

RESULTS

Findings showed that 25.7% of the participants reported having experienced SI (26.5% women, 22.7% men, 𝛘2 = 1.08, p = .299). The moderated-mediation model revealed that traumatic life events fully mediated the association between depression and SI (B = 0.12, p = .004; 95% CI, [0.04, 0.20]) and that racial microaggressions (B = - 0.03, p = .042; 95% CI [-0.07, - 0.00]) and internalized racism (B = 0.06, p = .006; 95% CI [0.02, 0.10]) moderated this relationship.

CONCLUSION

These findings underscore the importance of addressing racial microaggressions and internalized racism in therapy contexts among Black individuals to mitigate the potential negative impacts on their mental health. They also emphasize the need to develop effective, culturally sensitive, and racially adapted suicide prevention and intervention programs for Black communities in Canada.

Prevalence and factors associated with depression and suicidal ideation among French students in 2016: A national study

Depression is one of the leading causes of morbidity worldwide and increases the risk of suicide. Students are known as a population at risk for depression. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of 12 months major depressive episode (MDE) and suicidal thoughts in French students and investigate associated factors. A questionnaire was sent by email to a representative sample of the French student population between April 28th and June 27th 2016. MDE was assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (CIDI-SF). The response rate was 18.7% (N= 18,875). Prevalence of 12 months MDE was 15.8%, and suicidal thoughts was 9%. Factors associated with MDE were being a woman, study field (law/eco, human/social sciences, and medical), having failed midterms exams or dropout, refusal or stop social scholarship, and subjective financial difficulties. Factors associated with suicidal thoughts were study field (human/social sciences), having failed midterms exams or dropout, and important subjective financial difficulties. The use of CIDI-SF allows comparison with the 2017 French national study, and showed more MDE in students than in the general population. This is the only national study on French students before COVID 19 pandemic.

Prevalence of Current PTSD Symptoms Among a Sample of Black Individuals Aged 15 to 40 in Canada: The Major Role of Everyday Racial Discrimination, Racial Microaggresions, and Internalized Racism

OBJECTIVE

Most Black individuals in Canada report having experienced racial discrimination. Although previous studies have shown that there is a strong relationship between racial discrimination and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), no studies in Canada have documented this association among Black individuals. The present study documents (1) the prevalence of PTSD among Black individuals using data from the Black Communities Mental Health project and (2) risk factors associated with PTSD, including racial microaggressions, everyday racial discrimination, and internalized racism.

METHOD

A total of 860 participants (75.6% of women) aged 15 to 40 years old (M = 24.96, SD = 6.29) completed questionnaires assessing PTSD, experience of traumatic events, racial microaggressions, everyday racial discrimination, and internalized racism.

RESULTS

Findings showed that 95.1% of participants reported exposure to at least one traumatic event during their lifetime. In total, 67.11% of participants reported probable PTSD with no significant difference between men and women (68.2% and 67.8%, χ² = 0.132, p = 0.72). Participants born in Canada were more likely to experience significant PTSD symptoms, compared to those born abroad (70.92% and 53.14%, χ² = 19.69, p < 0.001). A multivariable linear regression model of PTSD symptoms was computed using sociodemographic variables and exposure to traumatic events as independent variables, which explained 25.9% of the variance. In addition to these variables, a second model included racial microaggressions, everyday racial microaggressions, and internalized racism, which explained 51.8% of the variance. The model showed that traumatic events (b = 0.6; p = 0.02), racial microaggressions (b = 0.5; p < 0.001), everyday discrimination (b = 0.2; p = 0.03) and internalized racism (b = 0.5; p < 0.001) were positively associated with PTSD symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

This article highlights the detrimental consequences of racial discrimination against Black people in Canada. Prevention and mental health programs aimed at mitigating its consequences on the lives of Black people and other racialized populations must be implemented.

Longitudinal Associations Between Cybervictimization and Adolescent Sleep Problems: The Role of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms

Adolescents who have experienced cybervictimization are at risk for sleep problems. However, there is a gap in knowledge about the mechanism that would explain this link. The study used a longitudinal design to test if cybervictimization predicted adolescents' sleep problems 6 and 12 months later, and whether these patterns could be explained in part by emotional distress in response to the victimization. Participants were 1987 Chinese adolescents (56.1% males) ages 10 to 14 (M = 12.32, SD = 0.53) at baseline. Data were collected over the course of 1 year, in three waves 6 months apart. The adolescents completed questionnaires regarding cybervictimization, sleep problems, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms at all three time points. Autoregressive cross-lagged models showed that cybervictimization predicted later sleep problems after controlling for traditional peer victimization, and anxiety and depressive symptoms mediated this link. Multivariate latent growth models showed that the developmental trajectories of cybervictimization, sleep problems, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms were related in complex ways over time. Measures of study variables were self-reported, and generalizability may be limited by a sample of adolescents from school in China. These results are important because of their implications for prevention and treatment of adolescents' sleep problems evoked by cybervictimization.

Nursing Intervention for Preventing Cyberbullying and Reducing Its Negative Impact on Students: A Scoping Review

Cyberbullying Prevalence of cyberbullying has increased every year on students as the most internet users. The negative impact of cyberbullying are anxiety, depression, and risk of suicide. Nurses have role to reduce the negative impact of cyberbullying on students. The aim of the study to describe the method of nursing interventions to prevent and reduce the negative impact of cyberbullying on students. This study used Scoping Review method. Articles from CINAHL, PubMed, and ProQuest databases. The keywords used in English are cyberbullying OR cyber-victimizations, nursing intervention, and students. The inclusion criteria were full text, randomized control trial or quasi-experimental design, sample was students, and articles publication period last 10 years (2013-2022). Based on the initial research, 11 articles were found that were relevant with the research objectives from 678 studies. The range of samples is 35-2771 respondents from elementary school to college students. Most of the samples in this study are from developed countries, there are USA, Spain, and Italy. There are three methods of nursing interventions, namely online programs, school-based programs and Social Competence Programs. Nursing interventions are focused on increasing resilience to build students' awareness of cyberbullying, and increasing resilience and adaptive coping in reducing the negative effects of cyberbullying. Then, the school-based program method is the most effective method in preventing and reducing the negative effects of cyberbullying because it comprehensively involves teachers, students, nurses, and parents to collaborate in carrying out nursing interventions.

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.

Investigating the relationship between bullying involvement and self-harmful thoughts and behaviour in young people: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

There is a complex and inconsistent relationship between bullying involvement and self-harmful thoughts and behaviour (SHTB) in young people. This novel systematic review aims to establish key interacting, moderating and mediating variables associated with SHTB in young people involved in bullying.

METHODS

The systematic review was registered with PROSPERO: CRD42020192023. A search was conducted (until February 2021) across databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Scopus (Elsevier), Web of Science, ERIC and CINAHL (EBSCOhost). Observational studies containing quantitative primary or secondary data analyses were included in the review, on the basis that they examined interactions, moderators, or mediators between bullying involvement and SHTB in young people. Versions of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale were used to assess risk of bias in the included studies.

RESULTS

A total of 57 studies were included. Overall, 3 studies identified interactions, 25 studies identified moderators and 21 studies identified mediators. 9 studies identified moderator-mediators. The findings were categorised as either self-harmful thoughts or self-harmful behaviours and synthesised under the following themes: socio-demographic; depression; parental; personality/psychological; and social/environmental.

LIMITATIONS

This review uncovered significant heterogeneity and a paucity of replicated studies in the field, therefore, tentative conclusions have been drawn.

CONCLUSIONS

This comprehensive review highlights the key role of depression as a mediator between traditional/cyber victimisation and SHTB in young people. The moderating effects of gender on mediation models investigating the role of depression suggest the possibility that females involved in bullying may be at increased suicide risk.

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.

Implications and Preventions of Cyberbullying and Social Exclusion in Social Media: Systematic Review

Background

The growth of social networking has created a paradigm in which many forms of personal communication are being replaced by internet communication technologies, such as social media. This has led to social issues, such as cyberbullying. In response, researchers are investigating cyberbullying to determine its implications in various life sectors.

Objective

This manuscript reviews the methods, results, and limitations of the current cyberbullying research and discusses the physical and mental repercussions of cyberbullying and social exclusion as well as methods of predicting and counteracting these events. On the basis of the findings, we discuss future research directions.

Methods

Using ScienceDirect, ACM Digital Library, and PubMed, 34 research articles were used in this review. A review was conducted using the selected articles with the goal of understanding the current landscape of cyberbullying research.

Results

Studies have analyzed correlations between depressive and suicidal ideations in subjects as well as relationships in the social, educational, and financial status of the perpetrators. Studies have explored detection methods for monitoring cyberbullying. Automated detection has yet to become effective and accurate; however, several factors, such as personal background and physical appearance, have been identified to correlate with the likelihood that a person becomes a survivor or perpetrator of web-based cybervictimization. Social support is currently common in recovery efforts but may require diversification for specific applications in web-based incidents.

Conclusions

Relations between social status, age, gender, and behaviors have been discovered that offer new insights into the origins and likeliness of cyberbullying events. Rehabilitation from such events is possible; however, automatic detection is not yet a viable solution for prevention of cyberbullying incidents. Effects such as social exclusion and suicidal ideations are closely tied to incidents of cyberbullying and require further study across various social and demographical populations. New studies should be conducted to explore the experiences of survivors and perpetrators and identify causal links. The breadth of research includes demographics from China, Canada, Taiwan, Iran, the United States, and Namibia. Wider ranges of national populations should be considered in future studies for accurate assessments, given global internet communication technology activity. The studies emphasize the need for formal classification terminology. With formal classification, researchers will have a more definite scope, allowing specific research on a single definable topic rather than on general bullying events and symptoms. Of all the studies, 2 used a longitudinal design for their research methodology. The low number of longitudinal studies leaves gaps between causation and correlation, and further research is required to understand the effects of cyberbullying. Research addressing ongoing victimization is required for the various forms of cyberbullying; social support offers the most effective current standard for prevention.

The Association Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation Among Chinese College Students: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Core Self-Evaluation and Depression

With the rapid development of science and technology, the Internet has formed a new form of aggression, which is called cyberbullying. Many studies have demonstrated that cyberbullying can cause serious damage to the physical and mental health of Chinese college students, such as depression and suicide. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and suicidal ideation and the parallel mediating roles of core self-evaluation and depression. A questionnaire was used to measure the research variables in this study among 1,509 college students. The results indicated that: After controlling for participants' gender, age, family structure, and family economic status, cyberbullying victimization significantly and positively related to suicidal ideation. Core self-evaluation and depression separately mediated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and suicidal ideation. The mediating effect of depression was stronger than that of core self-evaluation. The findings support a parallel mediation model of the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Our study may help to develop interventions and prevention measures for college students who experienced cyberbullying victimization.

An investigation of the relationship between cyberbullying, cybervictimization and depression symptoms: A cross sectional study among university students in Qatar

Background

Cyberbullying is a modern form of bullying that could be practiced electronically or on the internet. It is related to different mental health issues such as depression, which can affect both the cyberbully and the victim. Although a few studies have been conducted regarding the prevalence of cyberbullying and cyber-victimization among the younger generation in Qatar, no studies have been conducted among young adults despite studies showing that they are also prone to cyberbullying.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence and the relationship between cyberbullying, cyber-victimization, and depression symptoms among Qatar University students. A self-administered close-ended electronic questionnaire was used to assess student’s cyberbullying/cyber-victimization behaviors and depression symptoms. The Revised Cyberbullying Inventory scale (RCBI-II) and Patient Health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were utilized to measure involvement in cyberbullying and depression symptoms, respectively. A total of 836 students participated in the study. Pearson Chi-Square test and binary logistic regression were conducted to analyze the data.

Results

Results indicated the majority of students have been involved in cyberbullying as follows: 6.8% cyberbullies, 29.2% cybervictims, 35.8% cyberbully-victims, and 28.2% not involved in either. Approximately 50% of the students scored a ten or higher on the PHQ9 test indicating symptoms of depression. Moreover, significant associations were found between cyberbullying experiences and gender (p = 0.03), depression and gender (p = 0.046), and between cyberbullying experiences and depression (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that among Qatar University students, cyberbullying and cyber-victimization are prevalent behaviors that could be associated with the high reported rates of depression symptoms.

Polyvictimization and Cybervictimization Among College Students From France: The Mediation Role of Psychological Distress and Resilience

Few studies have explored potential associations between polyvictimization and cybervictimization and even fewer have involved in college-age sample. As it has been shown in the literature, polyvictimization is associated with higher psychological distress and lower resilience. This study is aimed to model the association between polyvictimization and cybervictimization by testing the mediating role of psychological distress and resilience. The sample included 4,626 undergraduates from France. Participants completed questionnaires assessing cybervictimization, polyvictimization (emotional abuse from parents, exposure to interparental violence, parental neglect, unwanted sexual touching, and unwanted sexual intercourse), psychological distress, and resilience. Results show that each form of victimization considered was significantly associated with cybervictimization. Also, polyvictimized participants presented higher prevalence of cybervictimization. The association between polyvictimization and cybervictimization was partially mediated positively by psychological distress and negatively by resilience. In fact, more cybervictimization was observed among polyvictimized participants with a high score of psychological distress, whereas fewer cybervictimization was observed in those with a high score of resilience. This study provides a new understanding of the mechanisms involved in cybervictimization that can help to better prevent and intervene with victims. Our results suggest that mental health professionals should assess childhood experiences of victimization when they are working with cybervictims. They also suggest the need for mental health professionals to help both polyvictimized and cybervictimized youth to develop resilience skills and coping strategies.

Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Associated Psychosocial Risk Factors among French University Students: the Moderating and Mediating Effects of Resilience

University students constitute a higher risk population for mental health problems, especially for depression. Given the lack of literature addressing such issues in France, this study estimated the prevalence rates of depression, its sociodemographic correlates in French university students [FUS], and examined whether resilience resources moderated and mediated the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. Participants (N = 1435, Mage = 20.5) completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the Perceived Stress Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Descriptive, multiple logistic regressions, and mediation analyses were used. With respect to the BDI-II's cutoff scores, 20.3% (95% CI: 18.3 to 22.4%) and 22.8% (95% CI: 20.7 to 25.0%) were positive to moderate and severe depression, respectively. Gender and education attainment appeared to be moderate risk factors when accounting for cumulative effect of perceived stress and resilience. Resilience buffered and partially mediated the perceived stress-depression relationship. In conclusion, the prevalence of depression was higher in FUS, as reported in previous studies. The amount of academic and daily stress explained this prevalence. University students with low resilience level were more at risk. Interventions aiming to improve resilience skills could help to mitigate the negative effects of stress and to promote mental health in this population.

Longitudinal Relationships among Cybervictimization, Peer pressure, and Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms

BACKGROUND

Most studies have used cross-sectional designs, very few of which have examined the bidirectional relationship between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms. This study examined bidirectional relationships among adolescents' cybervictimization, peer pressure, and depressive symptoms, and the mediating effect of peer pressure. As a further expansion of the present study, we examined whether these relationships would vary as the roles of gender and economic stress.

METHODS

Participants were 2,407 adolescents (M_age = 12.75, SD = 0.58; n_male = 1191). They provided data in two waves (12 months apart).

RESULTS

Results showed that there were significant bidirectional relationships between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms and peer pressure. Peer pressure significantly mediated the relationship between cybervictimization at Time 1 and depressive symptoms at Time2. For males, the relationship between cybervictimization at Time 1 and depressive symptoms at Time2 became stronger. For females, there was no significant bidirectional relationship between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms. In addition, family socioeconomic status and adolescents perceived economic stress did not moderate the longitudinal relationships among cybervictimization, peer pressure, and depressive symptoms.

LIMITATIONS

Different types of victimization needed to be included. In addition, more waves data served to explore the mediating effects.

CONCLUSIONS

The increase of cybervictimization predicts higher levels of adolescents' depressive symptoms, but only for males and not for females. Peer pressure mediates the relationship between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms.

Toward an Integrated Model of Supportive Peer Relationships in Early Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Exploratory Meta-Analysis

Supportive peer relationships (SPR) are crucial for mental and physical health. Early adolescence is an especially important period in which peer influence and school environment strongly shape psychological development and maturation of core social-emotional regulatory functions. Yet, there is no integrated evidence based model of SPR in this age group to inform future research and practice. The current meta-analysis synthetizes evidence from 364 studies into an integrated model of potential determinants of SPR in early adolescence. The model encompasses links with 93 variables referring to individual (identity, skills/strengths, affect/well-being, and behavior/health) and environmental (peer group, school, family, community, and internet/technology) potential influences on SPR based on cross-sectional correlational data. Findings suggest the central importance of identity and social-emotional skills in SPR. School environment stands out as a compelling setting for future prevention programs. Finally, we underscore an alarming gap of research on the influence of the virtual and online environment on youth's social realm given its unquestionable importance as a globally expanding social interaction setting. Hence, we propose an integrated model that can serve as organizational framework, which may ultimately lead to the adoption of a more structured and integrated approach to understanding peer relationship processes in youth and contribute to overcoming marked fragmentation in the field.

Relationship between suicidal thinking, anxiety, depression and stress in university students who are victims of cyberbullying

The objective of this study is to analyze the predictive capacity of cybervictimization with regards to suicidal thinking and anxiety, depression and stress in university students. The European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 and the Suicidality Scale were administered to a sample of 1282 university students (594 men and 688 women) aged between 18 and 46 (M = 21.65; SD = 4.25). The results suggest that being a cybervictim increases the probability of suicidal thinking and presenting high levels of anxiety, depression and stress. This study highlights the high prevalence rates of cyberbullying in the university environment and how this issue is associated with emotional problems and suicidal thinking. The identification of these relationships may allow for the development of effective preventive intervention measures to respond to this problem.

Assessing risk factors and impact of cyberbullying victimization among university students in Myanmar: A cross-sectional study

Background

Cyberbullying is a global public health concern with tremendous negative impacts, not only on the physical and mental health of students but also on their well-being and academic performance. However, there are very few studies on cyberbullying among university students, especially in Myanmar. This study aims to determine the percentage of university students who suffered cyberbullying victimization in the last 12 months, and the association between students’ socio-demographic characteristics, adverse events following cyberbullying and cyberbullying victimization.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students aged 18 years and older at one medical university in Magway, Myanmar. A total of 412 students (277 males and 135 females) participated in the study. Data were collected from August to September, 2018 using a self-administered questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analyses (models I and II) were performed to estimate the unadjusted (UOR) and adjusted odds ratios (AOR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results

In total, 40.8% of males and 51.1% of females in the study had suffered cyberbullying victimization in the past 12 months. In model I, students who had been studying at the university for 3 years or less (AOR = 1.81; 95% CI 1.14–2.85), and who had witnessed psychological, physical or sexual violence, or cyberbullying in their neighborhoods, (AOR = 2.95; 95% CI 1.48–5.91) were more likely to have suffered cyberbullying victimization in the past 12 months. In model II, being a victim of cyberbullying was associated with difficulties in concentrating and understanding lectures (AOR = 3.96; 95% CI 1.72–9.11), and substance abuse (AOR = 2.37; 95% CI 1.02–5.49). Non-resident students were at a higher risk of being cyberbullying victims than their resident peers (AOR = 1.86; 95% CI 1.04–3.34).

Conclusion

Two out of five students had suffered cyberbullying victimization in the past 12 months, and only half of the victims discussed their experience(s) with someone else. Students who suffered cyberbullying victimization faced academic difficulties and started or increased smoking, betel chewing or alcohol drinking. Counter measures to prevent and mitigate the adverse events related to cyberbullying victimization are urgently needed among university students in Myanmar. Periodic screening for cyberbullying, counseling services, cyber-safety educational programs, and awareness raising campaigns should be implemented.