Adolescence and young adult mental health
Mary Steen, Michael Thomas in Mental Health Across the Lifespan, 2015
Bullying can take on many forms but it is usually a behaviour that is defined by the use of threat, intimidation, coercion or force for the purposes of aggressively dominating or terrorising another individual. The behaviour is often repeated and may take on forms involving physical violence, name-calling, teasing, the spreading of rumours and/or cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying involves the use of the technology to repeatedly harass and bully others. Online harassment has been associated with increased rates of depressive symptoms (Ybarra and Mitchell, 2004). In 2010, 16 per cent of UK children reported being bullied, with 8 per cent saying they were bullied via the Internet. This had reversed in 2013, showing cyber-bullying was now more common than face-to-face bullying (12 per cent vs. 9 per cent ) (Livingstone et al., 2014).
Pediatric Health
Gia Merlo, Kathy Berra in Lifestyle Nursing, 2023
Children and adolescents spend many of their waking hours in school and need to feel safe in their school environment, on their way to and from school, and in their community (Hagan et al., 2017). Something that can make a child feel unsafe in the school environment and interfere with school performance is bullying. Children with special health care needs or developmental differences, such as those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are at increased risk for bullying victimization (McClemont et al., 2021). Youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning experience higher rates of bullying than do their heterosexual peers (Gower et al., (2018). Another group of children and adolescents who are likely to experience bullying are those who are overweight or obese. Studies have reported that adolescents who are obese are more likely to experience bullying when compared to their healthy weight peers (Rupp & McCoy, 2019). Cyberbullying, also known as online bullying, has become increasingly common and is a source of stress for children and adolescents. Researchers have found that victims of cyberbullying are more at risk for suicide, and school connectedness can reduce the impact of cybervictimization on suicidal behaviors (Kim et al., 2020).
Middle childhood
Dr Quentin Spender, Dr Judith Barnsley, Alison Davies, Dr Jenny Murphy in Primary Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2018
Children nowadays are growing up in a world that is rapidly changing and very different from the one in which their parents grew up.4Technology that makes the world so different includes the Internet, games consoles and a variety of other screen-based activities designed to grab attention (such as high-definition television on large screens, DVDs and mobile phones – plus gadgets likely to be freshly marketed between the writing and publishing of this book!). Children spend an average of at least three hours per week using a computer, and an average of at least 16 hours per week watching television or involved with other electronic media.5 Such technological innovations have not only changed the way adults work but also the way children play and relate to others. Concerns about children’s use of the Internet and video games include: whether this is linked to violent behaviourthe excessive use of these technologies at the expense of other activities and family interactionpossible harmful contacts made onlinecyberbullying.
Surviving Cyberbullying: A Thematic Analysis of Online Videos
Published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2021
Melvina Brandau, Ariel Rebello
In our technology-driven world, bullying has moved beyond the schoolyard and into the cyberworld. Cyberbullying (sometimes called electronic bullying) is most often defined as “an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or an individual, using electronic forms of contact” (Smith et al., 2008, p. 376). Initially viewed as simply bullying using electronic means, cyberbullying has proven to be more complex than just “online bullying”. Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying may occur with or without the intent of repetition and without a clear power imbalance between the target and the perpetrator (Englander et al., 2017). Additionally, cyberbullying can happen during or outside of school and most often, concurrently, with victims feeling as though they are locked in an inescapable cycle of victimization (Bauman, 2010; Brandau & Evanson, 2018; Cross et al., 2015).
Cyberbullying prevalence in Australian adolescents: Time trends 2015-2020
Published in Journal of School Violence, 2022
Nora Trompeter, Emma Jackson, Veronica Sheanoda, Aileen Luo, Kimberley Allison, Kay Bussey
Early research in cyberbullying found that the prevalence of online harassment increased among adolescents between 2000 and 2010 (L. M. L. M. Jones et al., 2013). Similarly, a longitudinal study among high-school students in the United States found the prevalence of cyber victimization increased from 2006 to 2012, with greater increases in prevalence among girls than boys (Kessel Schneider et al., 2015). Another meta-regression of studies revealed that cyberbullying incidence increased significantly over time and found that this did not differ according to gender, but that students in higher grades experienced lower cyberbullying than those in earlier grades (Kennedy, 2019). However, some long-standing researchers in this field have argued that cyberbullying trends have remained stable over time, and that much of the perception of rising rates can be attributed to increased media interest in the phenomenon (Hinduja & Patchin, 2012). While early research in this area has indicated a gradual rise in cyberbullying prevalence, potentially due to increased accessibility of the internet, smart phones, and social media, longitudinal cyberbullying research from the past decade has failed to thoroughly examine these factors and the ways they impact current cyberbullying trends (Camerini et al., 2020). Notably, a recent meta-regression of American studies found cyberbullying victimization to be steadily increasing from 2010 to 2017 (Kennedy, 2019), however, a number of the included studies used the same sample source, and only one included study was longitudinal. Therefore, these trends require further investigation.
‘Wasn’t This Already Considered Sexual Harassment?’: Exploring the Confusion Around the Law Mandating Consent to Receive a Nude Sext Message
Published in American Journal of Sexuality Education, 2022
Amelia E. Evans, Joseph M. Currin, Sheila Garos, Alyssa Stokes, Kassidy Cox, Cody L. Meyer
A high prevalence of mobile phones, social media platforms, and dating applications on mobile devices (Perrin, 2015; Villanti et al., 2017) increased our ability to sext with others. One unfortunate side effect of this access is an increase of sexual harassment, in the form of unwanted sexting or sexual communication (Barak, 2005; Ma et al., 2017; Nova et al., 2019). A nationally representative survey found that roughly four-in-ten (41%) Americans have been personally subjected to online harassing behaviors, while 18% of individuals have been subjected to particularly severe forms of online harassment, including behaviors such as physical threats, sustained periods of harassment, sexual harassment, and stalking (Duggan, 2017). In turn, digital communication is a means to sexually harass others; and it is available immediately at our fingertips. Technology is a median for non-consensual explicit sexual images.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Adolescence
- Bullying
- Threat
- Sexual Harassment
- Covid-19 Pandemic
- Stalking
- Peer Pressure
- Information Cascade
- Lgbt
- Self-Harm