Prevalence and related risks of cyberbullying and its effects on adolescent

BMC Psychiatry

Research

Ahmad Alqassim¹  Mohamed Mahfouz¹  Abdullah Hakami²  Almuhannad Qadri²  Ahmed Rayyani²  Bassam Hakami²  Abdullah Al Faqih²  Ebtihal Eltyeb³  Gassem Gohal³ 

[1] Family and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia;Medical Intern, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia;Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: Cyberbullying;    Psychological effects;    Adolescents;    Public health;    Mental Health;    Saudi Arabia;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-023-04542-0

 received in 2022-08-05, accepted in 2023-01-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCyberbullying is becoming common in inflicting harm on others, especially among adolescents. This study aims to assess the prevalence of cyberbullying, determine the risk factors, and assess the association between cyberbullying and the psychological status of adolescents facing this problem in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 355 students, aged between 12–18 years, through a validated online questionnaire to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of cyberbullying and assess psychological effects based on cyberbullying questionnaire and Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5) questions.ResultsThe participants in this study numbered 355; 68% of participants were females compared to 32% were males. Approximately 20% of the participants spend more than 12 h daily on the Internet, and the estimated overall prevalence of cyberbullying was 42.8%, with the male prevalence slightly higher than females. In addition, 26.3% of the participants were significantly affected in their academic Performance due to cyberbullying. Approximately 20% of all participants considered leaving their schools, 19.7% considered ceasing their Internet use, and 21.1% considered harming themselves due to the consequences of cyberbullying. There are essential links between the frequency of harassment, the effect on academic Performance, and being a cyber victim.ConclusionsCyberbullying showed a high prevalence among adolescents in the Jazan region with significant associated psychological effects. There is an urgency for collaboration between the authorities and the community to protect adolescents from this harmful occurrence.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023