Cyberbullying during COVID-19 lockdowns: prevalence, predictors, and outcomes for youth

Youth & Society

This study examines the role of adolescents-parents/teachers/peers relationships as explanatory variables of cyberbullying and problematic Internet-use (PIU) pre-and during COVID-19 pandemic. Questionnaires were delivered to 348 adolescents ages 13 to 18 years ( M = 15.05) at two time-points, provided a rare opportunity for assessment the pandemic effect. A significant increase was found in Internet-usage and PIU from pre-pandemic to during the pandemic-lockdown, although no change was found in cyber-perpetrating/victimization, but a decrease in cyber-witnessing. An increase was found in adolescents-teachers/peers relationships, while adolescent-parent relationships remained unchanged and strong. Intensive Internet-use was a positive explanatory variable for stronger teachers/peers relationships. When adolescent-peer relationships were stronger, the cyber-perpetrating/victimization were lower. Also, reinforcements in adolescents-teachers relationships during the lockdown may have in...

Centro Sur

Cyberbullying or cyberbullying has increased considerably since the massive use of social networks, among other reasons due to confinement. The purpose of this research is to know if there are significant differences or similarities in students involved in cyberbullying episodes in roles of perpetuation and victimization before and during the COVID19 pandemic during the years of 2019 and 2020 from gender. Two hundred students (57% female and 43% male) participated. Within the methodology, a Cyberbullying Questionnaire, (CBQ) was used, which measures participation in cyberbullying, in two of the roles (bully and victimized). The statistical procedure was to calculate the medians of each sample and compare them using the Mann-Witney U test. The results showed that there is no significant increase since only in two items of the sexting factor (bullying role) and another item of the incendiary provocation factor (victimization role), there was a significant difference between the two sa...

PRZEGLĄD KRYTYCZNY, 2022

With the switch to online teaching starting March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students have spent more time than ever online. The study (N=191) was conducted online and answered the following research questions: 1) Does the time spent online influence students experience with cyberbullying? 2) Are students from vulnerable groups more prone to cyberbullying? 3) What are the ways students believe cyberbullying should be addressed? 4) Are there gender differences in the way cyberbullying is perceived? Among others, the study revealed that women are more likely to acknowledge cyberbullying and that their professors are identified by a large part of the sample as perpetrators of cyberbullying.

Institute of Industry and Academic Research Incorporated, 2021

This is an original copy of the book chapter. Disclaimer This book is a collection of research articles written by different authors. The authenticity of the data and information is the sole responsibility of the authors. Furthermore, the standpoint and perspective of the authors as expressed in their research articles do not necessarily reflect the stance of the publisher.

Pediatric Reports

While we know that the pandemic and its social isolation, loss of school experiences, increased screen use, and financial stress have likely had a psychological impact upon children and teens, little research has been done directly with youth to assess social and emotional factors during the pandemic and in its immediate aftermath. In this study, a sample of 240 youth reported on their experiences with bullying, fighting, sexting, cyberbullying, anxiety, and depression during the period from March 2020 to April 2021. The results indicated that bullying, cyberbullying, sexting, and fighting showed only small or no increases, but anxiety and depression were dramatically increased relative to before the pandemic. Female and LGBTQ youth were particularly vulnerable during the months since March 2020. The results suggest that youth will need positive social experiences and, in some cases, psychological interventions and treatment to restore emotional equilibrium in the months ahead.

Jurnal Ners

Introduction: The use of information technology during the Covid-19 period is inevitable and can lead to cyberbullying. Mental and life health conditions can be threatened due to being the victim of cyberbullying. This study aims to determine the factors that contribute to the formation of cyberbullying behavior among youths in South Sumatra, Indonesia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken. The population was youths in South Sumatra, Indonesia with a total sample of 213 respondents who were determined based on purposive sampling. The data collection was done by distributing questionnaires via Google Forms. The questionnaire was developed based on the concept of cyberbullying behavior inclusive of repetition, power imbalance, deliberation and aggression. The data was analyzed using ANOVA and MANOVA.Results: In the study, we found that gender contributes the most to shaping cyberbullying behavior (p=0.000), followed by the parent’s occupation (p=0.018).Conclusion: It is nec...

The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 2021

December 2019 witnessed the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China in utter panic as the first wave of the novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 hit, soon to infect and take the lives of an overwhelming number of people. The situation has since been running out of control as the entire world was forced to face a global pandemic at its doorsteps. The pandemic encouraged governments to make changes and take decisions, like that of lockdowns and social distancing guidelines. These changes have severely affected (and continue to do so) people's financial conditions, physical and mental health, and social relationships. People suddenly found themselves having to not only cope with the pandemic but also the onslaught of a new digital reality. People inadvertently increased their presence online with schools and workplaces now opting to function through various online platforms. The increased cyber-presence resulted in a variety of cyber-crimes amongst which, the focus of this paper, cyberbullying. Granted cyberbullying has been a widely used form of online harassment for a while now, however, the pandemic is presumed to have resulted in a surge in cyberbullying cases. This has taken a toll on people's physical, psychological, and emotional health. The present review paper seeks to explore the nature of cyberbullying among students during COVID-19 in Turkey. As such, the paper will give a general idea of cyberbullying, the different tactics of cyberbullying, and the underlying theoretical basis for the same. Further, the paper will also try to identify the potential warning signs that bullies, victims, or bully-victims may present with and the precautions that parents, teachers, school administrations, and policymakers may take to curb the onslaught of cyberbullying cases.

Educatia 21, 2021

The increased use of the Internet and digital communication platforms has facilitated the emergence and development of the phenomenon known in the literature as cyberbullying. This research aims to examine the perception of the interviewees about the phenomenon of cyberbullying in the period marked by the Covid 19 pandemic. In this research the method of sociological survey based on questionnaire was used. The research was attended by 541 people, mostly young people (83.5% of the interviewees are under 30 years old). The findings showed that the interviewees know to a large extent the phenomenon of cyberbullying; respondents believe that this phenomenon spread during the Covid 19 pandemic; half of those surveyed witnessed the phenomenon of cyberbullying, while 44.7% say they know people who have been victims of cyberbullying. The present study analyzes the way in which the interviewees position themselves in relation to different acts specific to cyberbullying. The study also highli...

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia, 2021

Victimization via cyberbullying has become a significant mental health concern particularly among adolescents at risk of depression and other mental health issues. As the COVID-19 outbreak forced everyone to stay at home and participate in their educational, recreational, and entertainment activities online, this study investigated the relation between cyberbullying victimization and depressive symptoms among 612 college students in Tamilnadu, India. We hypothesized that experiences of cyberbullying victimization would predict depressive symptoms among the participants. Adolescents aged 18 to 19 from colleges in Tamilnadu completed an online survey composed of the Cybervictimization Questionnaire for Adolescents (CYVIC) and the Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Results showed a significant positive relation between cyberbullying victimization and depression (r = 0.80, p < .001). Regression analysis revealed that cyberbullying victimization is a statistically significant pr...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

In light of the alarming results emerging from some studies and reports on the significant increase in aggressive online behaviors among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, the current research aimed at providing a more detailed evaluation of the investigations focusing on the cyberbullying prevalence rates published between 2020 and 2023. To this purpose, systematic searches were conducted on four databases (Web of Science, APA PsycInfo, Scopus and Google Scholar), and following PRISMA guidelines, 16 studies were included and qualitatively reviewed. Although studies were characterized by a large variety in cyberbullying operationalization and measurement, and by different methodologies used for data collection, the prevalence rates of the involvement in cyberbullying and/or cybervictimization generally revealed opposite trends: an increase in many Asian countries and Australia and a decrease in Western countries. The findings were also discussed by considering th...