Cyberbullying has become an international public health concern among adolescents, and as such, it deserves further study. This paper reviews the current literature related to the effects of cyberbullying on adolescent health across multiple studies worldwide and provides directions for future research. A review of the evidence suggests that cyberbullying poses a threat to adolescents’ health and well-being. A plethora of correlational studies have demonstrated a cogent relationship between adolescents’ involvement in cyberbullying and negative health indices. Adolescents who are targeted via cyberbullying report increased depressive affect, anxiety, loneliness, suicidal behavior, and somatic symptoms. Perpetrators of cyberbullying are more likely to report increased substance use, aggression, and delinquent behaviors. Mediating/moderating processes have been found to influence the relationship between cyberbullying and adolescent health. More longitudinal work is needed to increase our understanding of the effects of cyberbullying on adolescent health over time. Prevention and intervention efforts related to reducing cyberbullying and its associated harms are discussed.

Two studies explored relations between peer social skills and theory of mind in young children. In Study 1, a global teacher rating of social skills with peers, performance on a traditional false-belief task, a standardized assessment of auditory language comprehension, and a time sampling of amount of speech with peers were obtained. Positive, but moderate, zero-order correlations were observed between the false-belief measure and social skills, and false belief accounted for a significant amount of additional variance in social skills after covarying age and the 2 measures of language. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 by using a larger sample and a standardized teacher questionnaire. The results are discussed with regard to the critical role of a mentalistic theory of behavior for human social interactions.

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Objective: The current study is the first to our knowledge to examine the prevalence, psychosocial impacts, and influence of coping strategies students employ when responding to racially focused peer victimization. Method: An online survey was administered as part of the Youth Voice Project to 13,177 students at their schools in 5 areas of the United States. The 3,305 participants (grades 5 through 12) who reported being victimized twice per month or more were included in the sample. Results: Twelve percent of participants reported being targeted with a focus on race. Those who were victimized with a focus on race were 1.4 times more likely to report a severe emotional impact from the experience. When responding to racially focused peer victimization, utilizing specific coping strategies (i.e., planned to hit or fight them, told the person to stop, told an adult at school, and told an adult at home) were positively correlated with the severity of emotional impact. Conclusion: Our findings have important implications for prevention and intervention program development, which must highlight the particular damage caused by race-based peer victimization. A stronger focus on how teachers respond when they are aware of peer victimization is critical for the development of effective training programs for educators given that telling an adult was not helpful in the eyes of most youth.

Research on bullying is an important avenue for understanding the social integration of students in special education. Focused on 3,305 students who self-reported victimization of two to three times per month or more, this study compared the pattern of verbal, relational, and physical bullying among students in general education and special education. Overall, students in special education reported more physical and emotional harm as well as more psychological distress as a result of their victimization. Self-reported rates of verbal and relational victimization were similar, but physical victimization was more often reported among students in special education. In addition, adult teachers and staff were more likely to verbally, relationally, and physically bully students in special education, according to student self-report.