English A-3

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Psychiatria Danubina, 2020; Vol. 32, Suppl. 2, pp 269-272 Review

© Medicinska naklada – Zagreb, Croatia

BULLYING THROUGH THE INTERNET – CYBERBULLYING

Martina Kreši ori
1,2,3

& Ana Kaštelan
4,5

1
Faculty of Health Study, University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

2
Psychiatry Clinic, University Clinical Hospital Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

3
School of Medicine, University of Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

4
Psychiatry Clinic, Clinical Hospital Centar Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia

5
School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia

received: 11.2.2020; revised: 24.3.2020; accepted: 12.4.2020

SUMMARY
Introduction: Bullying is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or an individual repeatedly and over time against

a victim who cannot easily defend himself or herself. However, with the advent of electronic communication via the internet and

mobile phones has led to appearence of a new form of violence, i.e. cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is define as “willful and repeated

harm inflicted through computer, cell phones and other electronic device”. The aim of this paper is to point to the growing problem

of cyberbullying.

Methods: Review the research and theoretical literature.

Results: Bullying through the Internet tends to occur at a later age, around 14 years, when children spend more time on their

mobile phones and social networking sites. Estimates indicate that between 15% and 35% of young people have been victims of

cyberbullying and between 10% and 20% of individuals admit to having cyberbullied others. Perpetrators of cyberbullying have a

degree of anonymity not possible in traditional bullying, and the potential exposure and embarrassment of the victim is on a larger

scale. It is possible to victimize a peer within their own home or elsewhere at any time of day or night, and should they remove

themselves from the site, the messages often accumulate. Victims of bullying often have mental health problems, including depressive

symptomatology, self-harm and suicidal behaviors.

Conclusions: This presents new challenges for individuals, families, schools, professionals, researchers, and policy makers.

Key words: cyberbullying – child – adolescent

* * * * *

INTRODUCTION

Bullying has become one of the leading public health

problems among adolescents. It refers on intentional

aggressive act carried out by a group or an individual

repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot

easily defend himself or herself (Olweus 1993). How-

ever, in recent years, rapid advance and ever-increasing

access to information and communication technology

(e.g. text messages, mobile phones, social networks

sites) have created a new way to take out frustrations

and aggression among youth. Although the Internet has

provided many benefits, it may be responsible for a host

of negative outcomes. Bullying through the Internet, so-

called cyberbullying, has emerged as a new form of

bullying and harassment and has occupied the attention

of both investigators and communities worldwide (Ko-

walski et al. 2014).

There is still some debate about how to define

cyberbullying. However, researchers have agreed on a

working definition that includes four criteria:

the sender must intend to harm the receiver;

there is a power imbalance between the sender and

receiver (e.g., age, social status, anonymity, physical

strength);

acts of aggression are usually repeated;

a personal computer, mobile phone, or other elec-

tronic device is used to communicate (Garret et al.

2016).

The media through which cyberbullying can occur

are equally diverse, including instant messaging (e.g.

through Viber, Skype, Messenger, etc.), e-mail, text mes-

sages, web pages, chat rooms, blogs, social networking

sites, digital images and online games (Kowalski et al.

2014).

TRADITIONAL BULLYING

VERSUS CYBERBULLYING

Although there are many similarities between cyber-

bullying and traditional bullying, it is important to

mention what are cyberbullying specific traits. Bullying

through electronic media is indirect, without physical

interaction, the victim does not have opportunities to

defend and is available at every moment, while chances

of identifying and punishing perpetrators are minimal

(Bili et al. 2014).

Cyberbullying perpetrators often perceive them-

selves to be anonymous. Perpetrators who remain ano-

nymous can say and do more harmful things than they

would face-to-face. Due to the lack of social and

contextual indications, such as body language and tone

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of voice, there is no affective feedback on how Internet

behavior has affected another person. For some per-

petrators, the recognition that they have hurt their victim

is enough to deter further bullying behavior. With

cyberbullying there is no direct way for perpetrators to

know the effect of their behavior on the victim, thus the

chances for empathy and remorse are significantly

reduced (Sourander et al. 2010).

The availability of cyberbullying victim is 24 hours

a day, seven days a week, while traditional bullying

usually occurs while children are at school. At any time

during the day or night, perpetrator can create websites,

send text messages, or post messages about others on

the Internet. Although the victims can remove them-

selves from the online site, the message continues to

accumulate. Abuse content sent via electronic media is

difficult to remove. Victims can be abused in the se-

curity of their home, without the simple ability to escape

from the perpetrator. The perpetrators of bullying through

electronic media do not attract the attention of parents

and teachers so they remain undetected for long time

(Kowalski et al. 2014).

Additionally, because of the nature of the venues

through which cyberbullying occurs, it has a much grea-

ter potential audience. This may be several thousand of

young people as opposed to bullying incident at school

where the audience is scarce (Kowalski et al. 2014).

According to some authors to be cyberbullied or to

cyberbully others seems to a large extent to be part of a

general pattern of bullying, where use of the electronic

media is only one possible form (Olweus et al. 2013).

Children involved in classic forms of bullying often

participate in cyberbullying too, i.e. they continue with

their activities from the real into the virtual world, while

their victims experience multiple victimisation (Bili et

al. 2014).

PREVALENCE OF CYBERBULLYING

As cyberbullying is a new area of investigation, re-

search methods are less standardized compared to other

areas. Each researcher applied their own unique metho-

dology (e.g., web-based online survey, classroom survey,

etc.), as well as anonymous or defined questionnaires

within a specific time period. Differences in study de-

signs, study populations, methodology, time periods,

and definitions of cyberbullying most likely explain the

wide range of the prevalence figures in various studies

(Suzuki et al. 2012).

Research results point to the prevalence of cyber-

bullying exposure from 4.8% to 73.5%. (Hamm et al.

2015). Estimates indicate that between 15% and 35% of

young people have been victims of cyberbullying and

between 10% and 20% of individuals admit to having

cyberbullied others (Hinduja & Patchin 2010). Meta-

analysis synthesizing the results of 80 studies estimated

the prevalence of traditional bullying victimization to be

about 36%, while the prevalence of cyberbullying vic-

timization was about 15% (Modecki et al. 2014). In the

research conducted in Croatia among 7
th

and 8
th

grade

elementary school students, the authors conclude that

the most common forms of cyberbullying are embar-

rassment on the forum, social networks sites or blogs

(38.4%), the publication of shameful images or content

on the Internet (32.4%) and harassment via e-mail or

text messages (29.9%) (Bili et al. 2014).

THE CONNECTION OF CYBERBULLYING

WITH THE AGE AND SEX OF CHILDREN

AND ADOLESCENTS

Cyberbullying is a widespread problem that can be

experienced by children at any age.

However, the majority of the current research has

been conducted on middle or high school children. There

were mixed results in the current literature, where some

authors find no significant association between age and

cyberbullying (Garett et al. 2016), while some authors

find the association between the mentioned variables.

For example, in a research conducted in the United

States, the authors came to the conclusion that cyber-

bullying tends to occur at a later age, around 14 years,

when children spend increasingly more time on their

mobile phones and social networking sites (Kowalski &

Limber 2007). Williams and Guerra found in their re-

search that cyberbullying increases after fifth grade and

peaks during eighth grade (Williams & Guerra 2007).

Other researcher suggest that age differences depend on

the method by which the cyberbullying occurs. Smith et

al. observed that text messaging, picture/video clip

bullying and instant messaging were more frequent

with older than younger adolescents (Smith et al.

2008). In research conducted among college student

population, it was found that over 30% of youth clai-

med that their first experience with cyberbullying was

in college. Even including those who had been cyber-

bullied in middle and high school, 43% of the

respondents indicated that the majority of the cyber-

bullying they had experienced had occurred during

college (Kowalski et al. 2012).

When compared to gender, boys are more involved

in direct physical contact while girls engage in indirect

forms of bullying, including cyberbullying (Kowalski et

al. 2014). Even in this area the research results are in-

consistent. Although some research supports this hypo-

thesis (Kowalski & Limber 2007), other research has

found no statistically significant difference between gen-

der and cyberbullying (Garett et al. 2016). In research

conducted by Sourander et al., it was concluded that

boys are more likely than girls cyberbullying perpe-

trators, while girls are more likely to be victims of

cyberbullying (Sourander et al. 2010). The results of the

research conducted in Canada also confirm that girls are

twice as likely to be victims of cyberbullying and that

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the more time young people spend on electronic media

they are more likely to be cyberbullying victims (Sam-

pasa-Kanying et al. 2014). In research among children

aged 11 to 13 years was found that the risk of cyber-

bullying is higher in boys if they are victims of tradi-

tional bullying, and in girls the risk is higher as the

popularity among peers is lower (Rivers & Noret 2010).

One group of investigators suggests that gender diffe-

rences depend on the venue by which the cyberbullying

is occurring. Girls are cyberbullying victims via e-mail

more frequently than boys (Hinduja & Patchin 2008),

whereas boys are cyberbullied through text messaging

more often than girls (Slonje & Smith 2008).

CYBERBULLYING AND MENTAL

HEALTH OF CHILDREN

AND ADOLESCENTS

Considering the importance of virtual spaces for in-

teraction and for the psychosocial development of ado-

lescents, it is important to point out that the results of

many researches indicate the connection of cyberbul-

lying with a wide range of dis s (Bottino et al.

2015).

Emotional responses of adolescents exposed to cyber-

bullying vary in intensity and quality. The European mul-

ticenter study conducted on a large number of adoles-

cents examined the emotional impact of different forms

of traditional bullying and cyberbullying on victims of

violence. The results indicate that 68.5% of adolescents

experienced some negative emotions such as anger,

upset, worry, stress, fear and depressive feelings (Ortega

et al. 2012). In a review study conducted by Reed et al.

on adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, was found a positive

correlation between depressive symptoms and cyber-

bullying (Reed et al. 2016). Adolescents who reported

experiences of cyberbullying, particularly those who

suffered frequent attacks (two or more times a month),

had more severe depressive symptoms when compared

with adolescents exposed to other forms of bullying

(Schneider et al. 2012).

The feelings of helplessness and powerlessness to

defend themselves from incidents of cyberbullying can

increase the sense of fear and emotional distress, con-

tributing to the emergence of depressive symptoms

(Bottino et al. 2015).

Cyberbullying may have even more harmful out-

comes to adolescents’ mental health, including sub-

stance abuse, unsafe sexual behavior, violent and suici-

dal behavior (Litwiller & Brausch 2013). In a meta-

analyses involving 156 386 children and adolescents, it

was concluded that cyberbullying victims are at a

greater risk than nonvictims of self-harm and suicidal

behavior (suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide

attempts). To a lesser extent, perpetrators of cyber-

bullying are at risk of suicidal behaviors when com-

pared with nonperpetrators (John et al. 2018).

However, it is unclear whether cyberbullying contri-

butes to mental health problems primarily because of its

overlap with traditional bullying. Results of previous

research support an association between bullying

(cyberbullying and traditional bullying) and poorer

well-being (Przybylski & Bowes 2017). In a cross-

sectional study conducted of 18 834 adolescents aged 12

to 18 years, authors conclude that cyberbullying, regard-

less of other forms of bullying, causes internalizing,

externalizing, and substance use problems. As a pro-

tective factor, authors point out frequent family dinners

(Elgar et al. 2014).

CONCLUSION

Cyberbullying remains a pervasive and troubling

problem among children and adolescents. Consequently,

continuous monitoring of the potential harmful effects

of electronic media on the health and well-being of

youth is required. Further research is also needed to

explicate the unique mechanisms at the individual and

the social level that lead to reductions in cyberbullying

behaviors. Knowing all this it is important to start

implementing prevention and detection of cyberbullying

and also include and educate social community. All this

presents new challenges for individuals, families,

schools, professionals, researchers, and policy makers.

Acknowledgements: None.

Conflict of interest : None to declare.

Contribution of individual authors:

Martina Kreši ori : design of the study, literature
searches, writing the manuscript toward the pre-
viously selected articles.

Ana Kaštelan: participated in the study concept and
also critically drafted and revised the final appea-
rance of the paper.

All authors provided their approval for the final version
of the manuscript.

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Correspondence:

Martina Kreši ori , MD
Psychiatry Clinic University Clinical Hospital Mostar
88 000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
E-mail: [email protected]