Digital Technology Use and Cyberbullying Among Primary School Children: Digital Literacy and Parental Mediation as Moderators

Cyberbullying has become a critical issue in many parts of the world. Children affected by bullying in cyberspace may also experience various other problems in their daily lives, such as emotional and behavioral issues. Despite the well-documented positive correlation between digital technology use and cyberbullying experiences in adolescents, a paucity of research has explored the association between digital technology use and cyberbullying, and the extent to which digital literacy (DL) and parental mediation moderate these relationships among primary school-aged children. This study addressed these research gaps. A total of 736 children (third grade, female = 52 percent) in Hong Kong, selected through stratified random sampling, reported on their digital technology use, parental mediation of technology use (i.e., active mediation and restriction), and cyberbullying experiences. A performance-based assessment measured children's DL. Results showed a positive association between children's digital technology use (both for leisure activities and for schoolwork) and cyberbullying experiences (both as perpetrator and victim). These positive associations were more pronounced among children with low levels of DL (only victims) as well as among children with highly restrictive parents (both perpetrators and victims). Implications for digital citizenship education and parental intervention are discussed.

Security and privacy of adolescents in social applications and networks: legislative aspects and legal practice of countering cyberbullying on example of developed and developing countries

Purpose

This paper aims to study the developed countries’ experience on the cyberbullying legal regulation among adolescents, to identify existing shortcomings in the developing countries’ laws and to develop recommendations for regulatory framework improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have studied the state regulatory practice of the UK, the USA, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey, UAE and analyzed the statistics of 2018 on the cyberbullying manifestation among adolescents in these countries.

Findings

The study results can encourage countries to create separate cyberbullying legislation and periodically review and modify already existing legislation.

Originality/value

The study provides a list of the recommendations to regulate cybercrime in developing countries and prevent it as well. The results may contribute to creating laws related to the regulation of cyberbullying in countries where such legislation does not exist yet or existing regulatory legal acts do not bring the expected results, namely, in Post-Soviet countries and other developing countries of the world.

The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Social Support and School Climate on the Association between Cyber Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms

Although the link between cyber victimization and internalizing symptoms is well established, questions remain about the factors that may describe this association and whether they differ by gender. In the current study, the mediating and moderating roles of social support (peers, family) and experiences of school climate (i.e., students' feelings of safety and caring within the school environment) were examined on the association between cyber victimization and internalizing symptoms among early adolescent boys and girls. Participants included 1151 students (51.4% boys) aged 10 to 16 (M_age = 12.7, SD = 0.93). Results from a hierarchical regression model indicate moderation effects of peer support and school climate; higher levels of cyber victimization were more strongly associated with internalizing symptoms when adolescents reported lower levels of peer support whereas higher levels of cyber victimization were more strongly associated with internalizing symptoms when adolescents reported more positive experiences of school climate. Structural mediation models show partial mediation effects with higher levels of cyber victimization associated with lower levels of peer support, lower levels of family support, and poorer experiences of school climate respectively, which in turn, were associated with more internalizing symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of creating safe and supportive environments at home and at school to promote healthy development during early adolescence, however, these efforts may not benefit adolescents who experience repeated cyber victimization.

Parents’ Awareness and Involvement in Dealing with Cyberbullying

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which parents of children aged 10–12 are aware that cyberbullying is a widespread phenomenon, how they deal with acts of cyberbullying performed by or toward their child, whether they take active steps toward preventing cyberbullying by and/or toward their child, and to what extent they are willing to invade their child’s privacy to this end.

The study employs a quantitative methodology. One hundred and thirty-three parents were selected from a convenient sample of parents of children in grades 4–6 in a number of public elementary schools. It was found that most parents have heard about cyberbullying, mainly through the various media and not as a result of communicating with their child. Although parents understand that there are psychological effects on victims and criminal consequences for aggressors, most do not deepen their knowledge on the issue. Most parents assume that they can control the phenomenon and distance their child from it and that their child was not involved in cyberbullying. These findings contrast with findings from other studies indicating that most children were involved in cyberbullying to a certain degree. Identifying the reason behind this gap and ways to decrease it requires further investigation.

Many studies have focused on cyberbullying among adolescents (ages 13–17) and less so on children aged 10–12. In this study, we chose to focus on children aged 10–12 because evidence indicates that children in this age group are more exposed to the phenomenon.

Internet Addiction, Cyberbullying, and Victimization Relationship in Adolescents: A Sample from Turkey

The study is a descriptive and relational study carried out with an aim to analyze the effects of Internet use and Internet addiction on cyber victimization and cyberbullying among adolescents.The universe of the study consists of the students (N = 3,978) studying at high schools in a city center located in the Black Sea Region. The students were determined by a stratified and simple random sampling method, whereas the sample of the study included 2,422 voluntary high school students. The data were collected through the Adolescent Information Form, Internet Addiction Scale, and Cyber Victim and Bullying Scale. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics such as number, percentage, average, and standard deviation were used, whereas independent samples t test, one-way analysis of variance, and correlation coefficients were used to compare the groups. The predictive effects of independent variables on cyber victimization and cyberbullying were investigated with multiple linear regression analysis. The average age of the adolescents participating in the study is 16.23 ± 1.11 years. The mean scores were calculated as 25.59 ± 15.88 for Internet addiction, 29.47 ± 12.65 for cyber victimization, and 28.58 ± 12.01 for cyberbullying. In our study, it was found that the Internet addiction, cyber victimization, and cyberbullying scores of the adolescents were low, but cyber victimization and cyberbullying were related to Internet usage characteristics and Internet addiction. Internet usage characteristics, cyber victimization, and bullying prevalence and relational studies should be done in adolescents. It is recommended to raise awareness of the harmful use of the Internet to families.

Sex Differences in the Association Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To examine sex differences in the association between cyberbullying victimization and mental health (psychological distress and delinquency), substance use-related outcomes (drug and tobacco use, binge drinking), and suicide ideation among adolescents.

METHOD

Data were obtained from the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS; 2013, N=10,272, grade 7 to 12). The sample for analysis included 4,940 students with a mean age of 15.1 years (43.3% male). A series of multi-level, binary, logistic regression models were conducted separately for female and male adolescents to quantify the strength of associations between cyberbullying victimization and study outcomes, after accounting for traditional forms of bullying and demographic covariates.

RESULTS

Female adolescents reported significantly higher prevalence of cyberbullying victimization (once, 9.4%; twice or more, 13.3%) as compared with male adolescents (once, 8.3%, twice or more, 7.8%). Exposure to cyberbullying victimization was associated with an increased odds for psychological distress, suicide ideation, and delinquency among both female and male adolescents (adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.76 to 4.63); although, the effects were more pronounced in females. Among females, but not males, the odds of reporting psychological distress, suicide ideation, and delinquency increased (in a step-wise fashion) with more frequent exposure to cyberbullying victimization. Cyberbullying victimization was associated with an increased odds of adolescent substance use only among females.

CONCLUSION

Adolescents exposed to cyberbullying victimization demonstrate an increased odds of poorer mental health, substance use outcomes, and suicide ideation. The current study reveals increased risk among female adolescents as compared with male adolescents. These findings lend support for the need to develop and evaluate targeted preventative interventions specifically tailored for female and male adolescents.

Internalizing Symptoms and Externalizing Problems: Risk Factors for or Consequences of Cyber Victimization?

Experiences of traditional victimization often co-occur with cyber victimization in adolescence but are not always controlled for when considering how cyber victimization is uniquely related to internalizing and externalizing symptoms. This is particularly problematic in longitudinal studies that attempt to determine the longitudinal associations between cyber victimization and internalizing symptoms, and between cyber victimization and externalizing problems and how these patterns may differ for adolescent boys and girls. In the current study, traditional victimization was controlled to examine the longitudinal sequences of association between cyber victimization and internalizing symptoms, and between cyber victimization and externalizing problems for adolescent boys and girls. Participants included 510 seventh and tenth grade students (M_age = 13.7, 61.6% girls, 44% Asian and 30% White) who completed surveys across three academic years in middle and high school. Findings from longitudinal path models suggest that internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems respectively were associated with increases in experiences of cyber victimization (beyond the effect of traditional victimization) both within and across time, particularly for adolescent girls. Efforts to address adolescents' experiences of cyber victimization must consider the vulnerabilities created by adolescents' continued internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems that may differ for boys and girls. Implications for cyber victimization prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Risky Business: Talking with Your Patients About Cyberbullying and Sexting

This article reviews cyberbullying and sexting research and presents new research exploring relatively neglected areas of cyberbullying and cell phone ownership among children and outcomes following sexting in college. Two samples are studied: 4584 elementary school children and 1332 college freshman. Findings include: owning a cell phone increased the risk of becoming involved in cyberbullying in grades 3, 4, and 5; and, of college freshman who sexted, 61% reported no outcomes, 19% reported negative outcomes, 13% reported positive outcomes, and 7% reported mixed outcomes. This information may be useful when considering discussing these digital technology risks with patients.

Cyberbullying victimization and its association with health across the life course: A Canadian population study

OBJECTIVES

To examine the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization (CV), its associations with self-reported health and substance use and the extent to which age moderates these associations.

METHODS

We used the 2014 Canadian General Social Survey on Victimization (N = 31 907, mean age = 45.83, SD = 18.67) and binary logistic regression models to estimate the strength of association between CV and health-related outcomes.

RESULTS

The five-year prevalence of CV was 5.1%. Adolescents reported the highest prevalence of CV (12.2%), compared to all other adult age groups (1.7%-10.4%). After controlling for socio-demographic covariates, individuals exposed to CV had increased odds of reporting poor mental health (OR = 4.259, 95% CI = 2.853-6.356), everyday limitations due to mental health problems (OR = 3.263, 95% CI = 2.271-4.688), binge drinking (OR = 2.897, 95% CI = 1.765-4.754), and drug use (OR = 3.348, 95% CI = 2.333-4.804), compared to those not exposed to CV. The associations between CV and self-reported mental health and substance use were strongest for adolescents and attenuated across the adult age groups.

CONCLUSION

Adolescence may represent a developmental period of heightened susceptibility to CV. Developing and evaluating targeted preventive interventions for this age group is warranted.

Gender and Geographic Predictors of Cyberbullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Coping Modalities Among Youth

Cyberbullying has become an important public health issue due to documented associations among victimization, perpetration, and greater likelihood of depression, substance abuse, anxiety, insomnia, and school-related problems for adolescents. Less is known, however, about how youth cope with cyberbullying and the types of services and supports they are likely to use based on relevant socioeconomic, demographic and geographic factors. The objective of this project was to determine whether gender and geography, in combination with mental health and socioeconomic status, predicted cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and patterns of coping and help seeking in a sample of youth aged 16 to 19 years ( N = 289). An anonymous online survey was used to gather information on cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and methods for coping from youth from New Brunswick, Canada. The results of this study suggest that the likelihood of becoming a cyberbullying victim or perpetrator, as well as the coping modalities used to respond to bullying, are highly gendered and intersect with existing social and health inequities. Interventions aimed at bolstering resiliency should be developed in the context of the urban and rural school environments where coping skills are developed and refined.

Cyberbullying Victimization and Adolescent Mental Health: Evidence of Differential Effects by Sex and Mental Health Problem Type

The use of electronic communication technologies has become a core method for adolescent communication. While there are many benefits to such technologies, cyberbullying has emerged as a potential harm. This study examines the association between cyberbullying and adolescent mental health problems and the extent to which this association differs by sex and mental health problem type. A clustered sample of 31,148 students in grades 6-12 (Female = 51.9%; 56.5% Caucasian, 10.2% South Asian) completed an anonymous survey asking their frequency of exposure to traditional forms of bullying, cyberbullying, and experiences of mental health problems over the past 6 months. Multilevel structural equation modelling was used to examine the associations. Controlling for age and traditional forms of bullying, cyberbullying was a significant predictor of adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems. Cyberbullying was more strongly associated with emotional problems for females and with behavioral problems for males. This evidence identifies unique adverse effects associated with cyberbullying on both emotional and behavioural problems and sex differences in the strength of these associations.

Associations Between Internet Attachment, Cyber Victimization, and Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescents

With increasing frequency of Internet use among adolescents, there are growing concerns about their risk for becoming attached to these forms of communication and increased vulnerability for negative online experiences, including cyber victimization. The effect of these experiences on adolescent mental health is not well understood. In this study, we examine how Internet attachment is related to anxiety and depression and assess the mediating effect of cyber victimization on these associations. Participants included 1,151 middle school students (51.4 percent males) aged 10 to 16 (M = 12.7, SD = 0.93). Structural equation models show that greater Internet attachment was associated with more cyber victimization and greater symptoms of anxiety and depression. Cyber victimization mediated the associations between Internet attachment and anxiety and between Internet attachment and depression. Implications for online awareness efforts are discussed.

Understanding the Correlates of Face-to-Face and Cyberbullying Victimization Among U.S. Adolescents: A Social-Ecological Analysis

Using a national sample of 7,533 U.S. adolescents in grades 6-10, this study compares the social-ecological correlates of face-to-face and cyberbullying victimization. Results indicate that younger age, male sex, hours spent on social media, family socioeconomic status (SES; individual context), parental monitoring (family context), positive feelings about school, and perceived peer support in school (school context) were negatively associated with both forms of victimization. European American race, Hispanic/Latino race (individual), and family satisfaction (family context) were all significantly associated with less face-to-face victimization only, and school pressure (school context) was significantly associated with more face-to-face bullying. Peer groups accepted by parents (family context) were related to less cyberbullying victimization, and calling/texting friends were related to more cyberbullying victimization. Research and practice implications are discussed.