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Longitudinal Associations Between Cyberbullying Involvement and Adolescent Mental Health

Fahy, AE; Stansfeld, SA; Smuk, M; Smith, NR; Cummins, S; Clark, C; (2016) Longitudinal Associations Between Cyberbullying Involvement and Adolescent Mental Health. Journal of Adolescent Health , 59 (5) pp. 502-509. 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.006. Green open access

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Abstract

PURPOSE: Cyberbullying differs from face-to-face bullying and may negatively influence adolescent mental health, but there is a lack of definitive research on this topic. This study examines longitudinal associations between cyberbullying involvement and adolescent mental health. METHODS: Participants were 2,480 teenagers taking part in the Olympic Regeneration in East London study. We collected information from participants when they were 12-13 years old and again 1 year later to examine links between involvement in cyberbullying and future symptoms of depression and social anxiety, and mental well-being. RESULTS: At baseline, 14% reported being cybervictims, 8% reported being cyberbullies, and 20% reported being cyberbully-victims in the previous year. Compared to uninvolved adolescents, cybervictims and cyberbully-victims were significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression (cybervictims: odds ratio [OR] = 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.00, 2.06]; cyberbully-victims: OR = 1.54, 95% CI [1.13, 2.09]) and social anxiety (cybervictims: OR = 1.52, 95% CI [1.11, 2.07]; cyberbully-victims: OR = 1.44, 95% CI [1.10, 1.89]) but not below average well-being (cybervictims: relative risk ratio = 1.28, 95% CI [.86, 1.91]; cyberbully-victims: relative risk ratio = 1.38, 95% CI [.95, 1.99]) at 1 year follow-up, after adjustment for confounding factors including baseline mental health. CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasizes the high prevalence of cyberbullying and the potential of cybervictimization as a risk factor for future depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and below average well-being among adolescents. Future research should identify protective factors and possible interventions to reduce adolescent cyberbullying.

Type: Article
Title: Longitudinal Associations Between Cyberbullying Involvement and Adolescent Mental Health
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.006
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.006
Language: English
Additional information: © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved. This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Adolescence, Cyberbullying, Depression, Mental health, Social anxiety, Well-being
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL EGA Institute for Womens Health > Neonatology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1554111
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