Cyberbullying among youth: A comprehensive review of current international research and its implications and application to policy and practice

Abstract

Cyberbullying research is rapidly expanding with many studies being published from around the world in the past five or six years. In this article we review the current international literature published in English, with particular attention to the following themes: The relationship of cyberbullying to the more traditional face-to-face bullying, including differences and similarities; the impacts of cyberbullying on victims, bullies, schools, families, and communities; coping strategies for victims, schools, and parents; and solutions, both effective and ineffective. A focus of this article is evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies, which may be employed by educators, psychological service providers, and by parents to counter the problem of cyberbullying. Here we address the importance of school and home culture, modelling, curriculum development in information and communication technology (ICT) and social media, peer and bystander education, and other non-punitive approaches. We conclude with a discussion of implications on policy and practice and future research directions.

Influence of Social Networking on Malaysian Female Secondary Students: A Qualitative Study Across Three Schools

“…These findings corroborate with the findings from previous studies (Arumugam, Ruuhina & Paramjit 2014;Cassidy, Faucher & Jackson 2013). These students are also less negatively affected by SN than the students in Thang et al's (2016) study.…”

“…Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to such risks as they are less aware of the necessity for self-regulation and are more susceptible to cyberbullying, privacy issues and sexting (O'Keeffe, Clarke-Pearson & Council on Communications and Media Executive Commitee 2011;Cassidy, Faucher & Jackson 2013). These issues have caused concerns and led to increased efforts to comprehend the attitudes and behaviours of children and teenagers toward SN.…”

Gender moderates the association between polyvictimization and suicidal ideation among adolescents in the United Arab Emirates

“…This could be further explained once the type of bullying is considered, although not specifically examined in the current analysis. Previous studies reported that females are more likely than males to be victims of cyberbullying which in turn has been linked with worse mental health outcomes such as suicidal ideation (Bannink, Broeren, van de Looij-Jansen, de Waart, & Raat, 2014;Cassidy, Faucher, & Jackson, 2013). The literature indicates that when being faced with adversities such as negative peer events, females experience more interpersonal stress and report more distress as compared to males (Rose & Rudolph, 2006).…”

Investigating the effects of personality traits on cyberbullying

“…Negative consequences of cyberbullying range from minor to lethal depending on the content, frequency, intensity, anonymity, type of technology used and medium where cyberbullying occurs. Cassisdy, Faucher and Jackson (2013) noted that many of the negative effects stemming from cyberbullying overlap with the consequences of traditional bullying such as depression, poor selfesteem, anxiety, suicidal ideation and some sort of psychosomatic problems.…”