Cyberbullying and Children and Young People's Mental Health: A Systematic Map of Systematic Reviews

Abstract

Cyberbullying is associated with considerable negative mental and psychosocial consequences in children and young people, making it a serious public health concern. To review the highest level of available evidence, a systematic mapping review was conducted to identify systematic reviews that investigated the relationship between cyberbullying and mental and psychological outcomes in young people. Topic-relevant bibliographic databases and online resources were searched to identify reviews published since 2007. Data were extracted using a coding tool developed for this study. Methodological quality of included reviews was assessed using AMSTAR criteria. Nineteen systematic reviews satisfied the inclusion criteria and they reported a strong negative association between cyberbullying and mental health outcomes in young people. Meta-analysis was performed in 11 reviews and narrative synthesis in 8 reviews. Data were derived from predominantly cross-sectional studies and a clear causal relationship between cyberbullying and mental outcomes cannot be established. Two-third of the included reviews were classified to be of low or unclear quality, due to the lack of quality assessment of the primary studies included in individual reviews. This systematic map consolidates available evidence at review level and confirms the existing gaps in longitudinal and qualitative evidence synthesis. Closer examination of the moderating factors influencing cyberbullying behaviors in future research can advance our understanding and inform the development of tailored programs of intervention to mitigate the negative impact of this phenomenon.

Cybervictimization, Depression, and Adolescent Internet Addiction: The Moderating Effect of Prosocial Peer Affiliation

“…Although there is growing evidence of the adverse effects of cybervictimization on adolescent adaptation (Aricak and Ozbay, 2016;Palermiti et al, 2017;Kwan et al, 2020), little research has examined its mediating and moderating mechanisms. To address this gap, this study investigated whether depression mediates the relationship between cybervictimization and adolescent's IA, and whether this mediating effect is moderated by PPA.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that adolescents who suffer from cybervictimization often exhibited a series of psychological problems, such as anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, and depression (Guo, 2016). However, among the many adverse consequences of cybervictimization, depression seems to be one of the most common and important (Kowalski et al, 2014;Kwan et al, 2020). Both previous cross-sectional and longitudinal studies can provide evidences that cybervictimization is an important risk factor for depressive symptoms (Landoll et al, 2015;Calvete et al, 2016;Chu et al, 2018), which means that adolescents are more likely to develop depressive symptoms after suffering from cybervictimization.…”

Computer-Mediated Communication, Social Media, and Mental Health: A Conceptual and Empirical Meta-Review

“…While certainly prevalent and relevant for MH, these forms of CMC are highly specific concerning message style, interaction context, and user characteristics. Moreover, they have been extensively reviewed elsewhere and thus lie outside the scope of this review (Chen et al, 2017;Kosenko et al, 2017;Kowalski et al, 2014;Kwan et al, 2020;Tokunaga, 2010). c. Furthermore, and in line with our focus on CMC, we excluded reviews on games.…”

Cyberbullying Victimization and Adolescent Drinking Behavior: Deviant Peer Affiliation as a Mediator and Personal Growth Initiative as a Moderator

“…Examples of cyberbullying victimization include repeatedly sending harassing or offensive messages to victims and publicly posting harmful information and content on the Internet (4,5). Ample research has documented that there is a high prevalence of cyberbullying victimization among Chinese adolescents with rates that are increasing annually (6)(7)(8).…”