cyberbullying research paper conclusion

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Associations between social media and cyberbullying: a review of the literature

Renee garett.

1 ElevateU, Los Angeles, CA, USA;

Lynwood R. Lord

2 University of California Institute for Prediction Technology, Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Sean D. Young

Cyberbullying is a significant public health concern that can lead to increased risk of mental health issues, including psychological and developmental problems or suicide. However, because cyberbullying is a relatively recent phenomenon, there is a lack of agreement among researchers about the definition and prevalence of cyberbullying as well as methods for measuring its prevalence. In this review, we evaluate papers published between January 2013 to August 2015 that explored cyberbullying through the medium of social media. The aims of the study are to (I) clarify the characteristics of people involved in cyberbullying, and (II) identify the types of instruments used to measure cyberbullying on social media. In particular, we attempt to understand the factors underlying abuser behavior, how abusive behavior affects the well-being of victims, and how bystanders mitigate or contribute to the act of cyberbullying.

Introduction

Social media has had a profound effect on how young people interact with their peers.

The use of social networking sites has increased tremendously over the past decade, with an estimated 80% of U.S. teenagers now using some form of social media ( 1 , 2 ). Social media websites offer an increasingly broad set of functionality and are characterized by user-generated content and a collective communication style ( 3 ). Unlike traditional websites, social media allows selective sharing of information and content based on settings the user chooses on his or her account. This ability to share has given young people unprecedented access to private information and a readily available platform to leverage that information against others.

Cyberbullying, a growing problem associated with social media use, has become a significant public health concern that can lead to mental and behavioral health issues and an increased risk of suicide. Cyberbullying has been associated with face-to-face confrontations, concern about going to school, and physical altercations ( 4 ). In the United States, a majority of students aged 12 to 18 reported that they were cyberbullied at least twice during the past year ( 5 ). Children who are bullied are more likely to experience symptoms of mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, changes in sleep and eating habits, increased feelings of loneliness, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy ( 6 ). Moreover, traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims report self-injurious behavior, suicidal ideation, and exhibit suicidal behaviors at similar levels ( 7 ).

Although the field of research on cyberbullying is relatively new, several cyberbullying literature reviews have been published. These reviews have focused on the consequences of cyberbullying ( 8 ), defining cyberbullying, and reporting its prevalence ( 9 - 11 ). Additionally, other reviews have focused on more narrow topics such as the relationship between cyberbullying and schools ( 12 ), the impact of cyberbullying on adolescents ( 13 ), and influencing school policy ( 14 ). One study, by Berne and colleagues, concentrates solely on the instruments used by researchers to measure cyberbullying ( 15 ).

In this review, we focus on papers that explore the relationship between cyberbullying and social media, with an emphasis on articles that discuss how cyberbullying affects the well-being of young people. The specific aims of the study are (I) to explore the characteristics of people involved in cyberbullying, and (II) to clarify what measurement instruments will lead to consistent, evidence-based evaluations of cyberbullying on social media. In particular, we attempt to understand the factors underlying abuser behavior, the mental health characteristics of victims, and how bystanders mitigate or contribute to the act of cyberbullying.

A systematic search of PubMed and PsycINFO was conducted to identify relevant papers. For each search, the term “cyberbullying” was used as the main search term and one of the following terms was included: social media, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter. In total, we identified 307 papers, with 98 papers appearing in PubMed and 209 listed in PsycINFO ( Figure 1 ).

Flowchart of articles evaluated for the literature review.

There is still some debate about how to define cyberbullying. However, researchers have agreed on a working definition that includes four criteria: (I) the sender must intend to harm the receiver; (II) there is a power imbalance between the sender and receiver (e.g., age, social status, anonymity, physical strength); (III) acts of aggression are usually repeated; and (IV) a personal computer, mobile phone, or other electronic device is used to communicate. For the purposes of this review, this definition was used to parse the search results.

The following inclusion criteria were used to select papers:

• Published in a peer-reviewed journal between January 2013 to August 2015;
• Available in electronic form;
• The acting definition of cyberbullying matched the definition presented above;
• The research design included a social media platform (e.g., Twitter, Facebook);
• An empirical study and original dataset was used (i.e., not a literature review).

Using these guidelines eliminated papers that discussed similar concepts to cyberbullying, such as flaming or harassment. The search results returned numerous papers that discussed traditional bullying but not cyberbullying. Furthermore, many papers evaluated cyberbullying, but did not explore the relationship between cyberbullying and social media; these papers were eliminated from the analysis.

Our initial evaluation of 307 papers resulted in 73 papers being selected for in-depth review. The in-depth review focused on criteria points 3 to 5 above to ensure that each paper detailed an independent empirical study of cyberbullying and its relationship to social media. The in-depth review was completed by a team of two reviewers who worked independently, and a third reviewer made the final selection of papers to retain for the analysis ( Figure 1 ).

Data analysis

Data extracted from the papers comprised the following categories: (I) author(s) and year of publication; (II) sample characteristics (sample size, % female, school level, and country); (III) study characteristics (social media platform used for cyberbullying, subpopulation studied, and purpose/objective of paper); (IV) factors significantly related to cyberbullying for the population researched (bullies, victims, bystanders); and (V) cyberbullying definition and frequency (i.e., instrument used to measure cyberbullying and the reported frequency of bullying/cyberbullying).

First, we categorized studies according to the instrument used to measure cyberbullying. The breakdown of instruments was similar to that reported by Berne and colleagues ( 15 ), but was not as extensive. Second, we created a list of the various factors mentioned in each text to explain cyberbullying and to characterize subjects in the study. The papers focused on three subpopulations: victims, bullies, and bystanders. The researchers ran a regression model or conducted a correlation analysis in order to estimate the relationship between cyberbullying and numerous different factors. In these regression models/correlation matrices, a measure of cyberbullying was used as an independent or dependent variable. The factors or variables of interest in the models served as characteristics of the three different subpopulations. If a factor was found to be statistically significant or highly correlated with a measure of cyberbullying, it was added to a list of factors that explain cyberbullying (with respect to each subpopulation).

There was a steady increase in the number of cyberbullying studies published during the 3-year review period: 1 each in 2013 and 2014 (4.5%, respectively), 7 in 2014 (31.8%), and 11 in 2015 (50%). Appendix A summarizes the 22 papers that were reviewed.

There was a general consensus that cyberbullying only affects youths. Of the 22 papers, 14 (63.6%) used a sample consisting of middle school/high school students, 9 (40.9%) included university students, and 3 (13.6%) included primary school students. This youth-oriented focus resulted in 20 (90.9%) of studies being sampled by the school level. The average sample consisted of seven schools, with 7 (31.8%) studies sampling from a single school; 5 (22.7%) studies failed to report the number of schools. Similarly, 6 (27.2%) studies used a non-random convenience sample and 12 (54.5%) studies used some type of randomization. Overall, the average sample size was 129.9 (54.2% female) and the majority of studies did not collect data longitudinally (n=20; 90.9% of the studies consisted of a one-time data collection event).

The most commonly cited social media platforms were Facebook (n=10, 45.4%) and MySpace (n=3, 13.6%). Four other platforms were mentioned, but they were infrequently cited: instant messaging was mentioned twice (9.1%) and Twitter, Instagram, and chat rooms each received one mention (4.6%).

Instruments

The most prevalent instruments used to measure cyberbullying were multi-question surveys (45.4%) followed by direct questions (27.3%) ( Table 1 ). The multi-question surveys ranged from 9 to 32 questions in length. Both the multi-survey instruments and the “direct question to subject” instruments asked subjects to recall a period of time ranging from the previous week to the previous year. Of the 10 studies that used multi-question instruments, 9 used instruments featured in previous studies.

*, of the 10 papers, 9 (40.9%) used survey tools that were established in previous research papers; † , time periods ranged from the previous week to the previous year.

To identify the characteristics of individuals involved in cyberbullying, we began by classifying studies according to subpopulation. Studies most frequently researched cyberbullying victims (n=15, 68.2%) or bullies (n=11, 50%), and a smaller number evaluated bystanders (n=7, 31.9%). Ten (45.4%) studies examined both victims and bullies, 5 (22.7%) studies looked at victims alone, and 1 (4.5%) study looked at bullies alone.

As noted above, all multi-question and direct-question instruments asked subjects to recall a specific period of time. For instance, “In the previous year, how many times were you cyberbullied?” Of 13 studies that reported on the prevalence of cyberbullying within their sample, 12 reported timeframes ranging from 1 month to 1 year. These 12 papers used the criteria of being “cyberbullied at least once” during that timeframe as their definition of having experienced cyberbullying ( Table 2 ). When a subject provided a smaller timeframe or was asked about more frequent bullying, the prevalence rate lowered. For example, Navarro and colleagues noted that only 2.9% of their subjects reported being cyberbullied multiple times per week (1.8% reported being bullied multiple times a week) ( 16 ).

This table reports the average levels of bullying/cyberbullying seen in the literature. Four (17%) papers failed to report any values and 5 (21%) papers did not research victim/bully subpopulations.

The findings in each paper were analyzed to create a list of characteristics for the cyberbullying subpopulations. The majority of papers (n=15, 68.2%) modeled cyberbullying/conducted a correlation analysis of cyberbullying or proposed a model that used cyberbullying as an independent variable. Five other papers (22.7%) explored the motivations/perceptions of bystanders with respect to cyberbullying. Only those characteristics found to be statistically significant or highly correlated with cyberbullying were added to the list for each subpopulation. Characteristics of victims (n=21), cyberbullies (n=17), and bystanders (n=10) were compiled. A list of the most commonly cited characteristics was compiled for Table 3 .

We found that the most commonly used instruments are sophisticated surveys designed to measure multiple dimensions of cyberbullying. In many studies, researchers favored the use of tailored instruments for each subpopulation. The use of complex questionnaires reflects growing sophistication in the field, but it also indicates a lack of agreement on which instrument to use. Of the nine studies that used instruments from previously published work, the most frequently referenced source was from Olweus ( 17 ) in three studies. In our analysis, 18 of the 22 (81.8%) studies were published in 2014 or 2015, which reflects the burgeoning state of the field of social media research and cyberbullying.

We agree with the conclusion posited by Berne et al . ( 15 ) that the lack of consensus regarding cyberbullying instruments reflects the fact that there is little agreement as to the exact concept being researched (i.e., cyberbullying, electronic bullying, and/or Internet harassment). In counterpoint, this may be the reason why researchers use multiple-dimension surveys: the instruments are used to account for the complexity of cyberbullying/harassment over social media, with specific measures geared toward various aspects of well-being. Another method used to handle complexity was to simplify the concept of cyberbullying for the subjects. Six studies (27.3%) supplied a statement that defined cyberbullying and then asked a direct question based on that definition (e.g., “How many times were you cyberbullied in the last months?”). Two papers (9.1%) went so far as to narrow the working definition of cyberbullying to refer to negative comments and/or embarrassing photos (n=2, 9.1%).

When evaluating the characteristics of the subpopulations, we found that the literature has advanced beyond limited objectives that estimate the frequency of cyberbullying. While 13 studies (59.1%) did report this value, the majority of papers (68.2%) focused on modeling the relationship between cyberbullying and other independent variables. A common question in many papers was, why do some people become cyberbullies, victims, or bystanders?

Unfortunately, there was little agreement among the studies when it came to interpreting how to distinguish these three categories. The high degree of variability in the findings is reflected in the large number of significant characteristics (17 for bullies and 21 for victims) and the minimal overlap between the findings. The most common characteristics of a bully and victim were found in only 20% and 18% of studies, respectively. In fact, one of the more consistent findings was that the variables were found to be not significant. In at least 3 (27.2%) papers that focused on victims, variables such as age, gender, and ethnicity were found to not be significantly related to cyberbullying, which suggests that the field remains relatively open.

Furthermore, the papers we reviewed did not reveal why bullies and victims assumed their respective roles. We did note that certain characteristics were common among cyberbullies (e.g., being a victim of bullying themselves), and among victims, symptoms of depression were common. More details about these characteristics are listed in Table 3 .

Finding a solution to cyberbullying was an implicit objective of the studies evaluated for this review, yet there was a lack of consensus among papers concerned with bullies or victims. However, the work on bystanders provided several interesting insights. Of the five papers that focused solely on bystanders, four were experimental studies that introduced interventions designed to influence bystander behavior. Several solutions to engaging bystanders are suggested, with the most common being social support for or against a bully. Two papers found that if others publicly disagreed with a bully, then a bystander was more likely to also disagree and intervene in favor of the victim. However, if others publicly joined the bully, then a bystander was more likely to agree with the bully and intervene in favor of the bully.

Several papers attempted to estimate the relationship between cyberbullying and another concept that could be impacted by cyberbullying. For example, in Cénat et al . ( 18 ) and Bauman and Baldasare ( 19 ), cyberbullying was used as an independent variable in a model that measured psychological distress as the dependent variable. Navarro and colleagues ( 20 ) conducted a similar analysis, but instead looked at the relationship between cyberbullying and happiness at school.

One limitation of our study was that we may not have evaluated enough papers to make firm conclusions. Four keyword combination searches were used in order to obtain the final selection of papers, but the literature on social media-based cyberbullying is new and evolving nearly as quickly as the technology itself. This made it difficult to create the most effective keyword searches. An additional limitation is that the study did not use a meta-analysis methodology, which may have proven useful for determining factors associated with the three subpopulations.

Future research should aim to create a standardized set of instruments to evaluate cyberbullying. While some studies appear to have made an important impact and informed the general approach to cyberbullying (e.g., the work of Olweus ( 17 )], the large number of multi-question surveys suggests a need for accurate, reliable instruments. Only with consistent reporting of the incidence and features of cyberbullying will we be able to develop focused prevention strategies.

Future research should aim to advance the cyberbully modeling work outlined in this review, which can be done in three suggested directions. The first suggestion relates to the lack of reliable instruments. This lack of consistency could be indicative of instruments that are not measuring the same concept or are failing to measure significant indications of cyberbullying. Furthermore, there was a significant degree of variability in the nature of the questions posed by the study authors. For example, some researchers focused their questions on negative comments to postings ( 21 ), some focused on the media that was used ( 22 ), others focused on the number of cyberbullying incidents during a particular time period ( 23 ), and still others focused on the emotional impact of the interaction ( 24 , 25 ). This suggests the need for a standardized set of questions that focuses on content and disregards platform.

The second suggestion is to improve study design. Asking a sample of young people their experience with cyberbullying is a sensitive and deeply personal topic for many youth (80.9% of the papers surveyed youth who were high school level or lower). One indication of this problem is that the average non-reply/refuse-to-participate rate was 39% in one study, and as high as 91% in another study. Moreover, most studies required parental consent, which was often obtained via a letter brought home by the student or mailed to parents by school administrators. These refusal rates suggest that many samples in the literature underrepresent the number of children affected by cyberbullying. One worrisome indication of this lack of representation is that the majority of independent variables were found to be insignificant in several studies ( 20 , 23 ). However, it is possible that the students most likely to be cyberbullied are also the most likely to not participate in a cyberbullying study.

The third suggestion is that researchers should limit their objectives and focus on specific aspects of subpopulations. Many studies started with a broad concept of cyberbullying and then designed a model with a similarly broad array of independent variables. By increasing specificity, future research could supply more practical results.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge Justin P. Smith for his assistance on the data analysis and a previous version of this manuscript. The authors wish to thank Claire Houlihan for her help conducting the literature review.

Funding: This work was funded by the National Institute on Mental Health and the University of California Office of the President Award to the University of California Institute for Prediction Technology.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Cyberbullying among adolescents and children: a comprehensive review of the global situation, risk factors, and preventive measures.

• 1 School of Political Science and Public Administration, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
• 2 School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
• 3 College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom

Background: Cyberbullying is well-recognized as a severe public health issue which affects both adolescents and children. Most extant studies have focused on national and regional effects of cyberbullying, with few examining the global perspective of cyberbullying. This systematic review comprehensively examines the global situation, risk factors, and preventive measures taken worldwide to fight cyberbullying among adolescents and children.

Methods: A systematic review of available literature was completed following PRISMA guidelines using the search themes “cyberbullying” and “adolescent or children”; the time frame was from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2019. Eight academic databases pertaining to public health, and communication and psychology were consulted, namely: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Communication & Mass Media Complete, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. Additional records identified through other sources included the references of reviews and two websites, Cyberbullying Research Center and United Nations Children's Fund. A total of 63 studies out of 2070 were included in our final review focusing on cyberbullying prevalence and risk factors.

Results: The prevalence rates of cyberbullying preparation ranged from 6.0 to 46.3%, while the rates of cyberbullying victimization ranged from 13.99 to 57.5%, based on 63 references. Verbal violence was the most common type of cyberbullying. Fourteen risk factors and three protective factors were revealed in this study. At the personal level, variables associated with cyberbullying including age, gender, online behavior, race, health condition, past experience of victimization, and impulsiveness were reviewed as risk factors. Likewise, at the situational level, parent-child relationship, interpersonal relationships, and geographical location were also reviewed in relation to cyberbullying. As for protective factors, empathy and emotional intelligence, parent-child relationship, and school climate were frequently mentioned.

Conclusion: The prevalence rate of cyberbullying has increased significantly in the observed 5-year period, and it is imperative that researchers from low and middle income countries focus sufficient attention on cyberbullying of children and adolescents. Despite a lack of scientific intervention research on cyberbullying, the review also identified several promising strategies for its prevention from the perspectives of youths, parents and schools. More research on cyberbullying is needed, especially on the issue of cross-national cyberbullying. International cooperation, multi-pronged and systematic approaches are highly encouraged to deal with cyberbullying.

Introduction

Childhood and adolescence are not only periods of growth, but also of emerging risk taking. Young people during these periods are particularly vulnerable and cannot fully understand the connection between behaviors and consequences ( 1 ). With peer pressures, the heat of passion, children and adolescents usually perform worse than adults when people are required to maintain self-discipline to achieve good results in unfamiliar situations. Impulsiveness, sensation seeking, thrill seeking, and other individual differences cause adolescents to risk rejecting standardized risk interventions ( 2 ).

About one-third of Internet users in the world are children and adolescents under the age of 18 ( 3 ). Digital technology provide a new form of interpersonal communication ( 4 ). However, surveys and news reports also show another picture in the Internet Age. The dark side of young people's internet usage is that they may bully or suffer from others' bullying in cyberspace. This behavior is also acknowledged as cyberbullying ( 5 ). Based on Olweus's definition, cyberbullying is usually regarded as bullying implemented through electronic media ( 6 , 7 ). Specifically, cyberbullying among children and adolescents can be summarized as the intentional and repeated harm from one or more peers that occurs in cyberspace caused by the use of computers, smartphones and other devices ( 4 , 8 – 12 ). In recent years, new forms of cyberbullying behaviors have emerged, such as cyberstalking and online dating abuse ( 13 – 15 ).

Although cyberbullying is still a relatively new field of research, cyberbullying among adolescents is considered to be a serious public health issue that is closely related to adolescents' behavior, mental health and development ( 16 , 17 ). The increasing rate of Internet adoption worldwide and the popularity of social media platforms among the young people have worsened this situation with most children and adolescents experiencing cyberbullying or online victimization during their lives. The confines of space and time are alleviated for bullies in virtual environments, creating new venues for cyberbullying with no geographical boundaries ( 6 ). Cyberbullying exerts negative effects on many aspects of young people's lives, including personal privacy invasion and psychological disorders. The influence of cyberbullying may be worse than traditional bullying as perpetrators can act anonymously and connect easily with children and adolescents at any time ( 18 ). In comparison with traditional victims, those bullied online show greater levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness ( 19 ). Self-esteem problems and school absenteeism have also proven to be related to cyberbullying ( 20 ).

Due to changes in use and behavioral patterns among the youth on social media, the manifestations and risk factors of cyberbullying have faced significant transformation. Further, as the boundaries of cyberbullying are not limited by geography, cyberbullying may not be a problem contained within a single country. In this sense, cyberbullying is a global problem and tackling it requires greater international collaboration. The adverse effects caused by cyberbullying, including reduced safety, lower educational attainment, poorer mental health and greater unhappiness, led UNICEF to state that “no child is absolutely safe in the digital world” ( 3 ).

Extant research has examined the prevalence and risk factors of cyberbullying to unravel the complexity of cyberbullying across different countries and their corresponding causes. However, due to variations in cyberbullying measurement and methodologies, no consistent conclusions have been drawn ( 21 ). Studies into inconsistencies in prevalence rates of cyberbullying, measured in the same country during the same time period, occur frequently. Selkie et al. systematically reviewed cyberbullying among American middle and high school students aged 10–19 years old in 2015, and revealed that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization ranged from 3 to 72%, while perpetration ranged from 1 to 41% ( 22 ). Risk and protective factors have also been broadly studied, but confirmation is still needed of those factors which have more significant effects on cyberbullying among young people. Clarification of these issues would be useful to allow further research to recognize cyberbullying more accurately.

This review aims to extend prior contributions and provide a comprehensive review of cyberbullying of children and adolescents from a global perspective, with the focus being on prevalence, associated risk factors and protective factors across countries. It is necessary to provide a global panorama based on research syntheses to fill the gaps in knowledge on this topic.

Search Strategies

This study strictly employed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We consulted eight academic databases pertaining to public health, and communication and psychology, namely: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Communication & Mass Media Complete, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. Additional records identified through other sources included the references of reviews and two websites, Cyberbullying Research Center and United Nations Children's Fund. With regard to the duration of our review, since most studies on cyberbullying arose around 2015 ( 9 , 21 ), this study highlights the complementary aspects of the available information about cyberbullying during the recent 5 year period from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2019.

One researcher extracted keywords and two researchers proposed modifications. We used two sets of subject terms to review articles, “cyberbullying” and “child OR adolescent.” Some keywords that refer to cyberbullying behaviors and young people are also included, such as threat, harass, intimidate, abuse, insult, humiliate, condemn, isolate, embarrass, forgery, slander, flame, stalk, manhunt, as well as teen, youth, young people and student. The search formula is (cyberbullying OR cyber-bullying OR cyber-aggression OR ((cyber OR online OR electronic OR Internet) AND (bully * OR aggres * OR violence OR perpetrat * OR victim * OR threat * OR harass * OR intimidat * OR * OR insult * OR humiliate * OR condemn * OR isolate * OR embarrass * OR forgery OR slander * OR flame OR stalk * OR manhunt))) AND (adolescen * OR child OR children OR teen? OR teenager? OR youth? OR “young people” OR “elementary school student * ” OR “middle school student * ” OR “high school student * ”). The main search approach is title search. Search strategies varied according to the database consulted, and we did not limit the type of literature for inclusion. Journals, conference papers and dissertations are all available.

Specifically, the inclusion criteria for our study were as follows: (a). reported or evaluated the prevalence and possible risk factors associated with cyberbullying, (b). respondents were students under the age of 18 or in primary, junior or senior high schools, and (c). studies were written in English. Exclusion criteria were: (a). respondents came from specific groups, such as clinical samples, children with disabilities, sexual minorities, specific ethnic groups, specific faith groups or samples with cross-national background, (b). review studies, qualitative studies, conceptual studies, book reviews, news reports or abstracts of meetings, and (c). studies focused solely on preventive measures that were usually meta-analytic and qualitative in nature. Figure 1 presents the details of the employed screening process, showing that a total of 63 studies out of 2070 were included in our final review.

Figure 1 . PRISMA flow chart diagram showing the process of study selection for inclusion in the systematic review on children and adolescents cyberbullying.

Meta-analysis was not conducted as the limited research published within the 5 years revealed little research which reported odds ratio. On the other hand, due to the inconsistency of concepts, measuring instruments and recall periods, considerable variation could be found in research quality ( 23 ). Meta-analysis is not a preferred method.

Coding Scheme

For coding, we created a comprehensive code scheme to include the characteristics. For cyberbullying, we coded five types proposed by Willard ( 24 – 26 ), which included verbal violence, group violence, visual violence, impersonating and account forgery, and other behaviors. Among them, verbal violence is considered one of the most common types of cyberbullying and refers to the behavior of offensive responses, insults, mocking, threats, slander, and harassment. Group violence is associated with preventing others from joining certain groups or isolating others, forcing others to leave the group. Visual violence relates to the release and sharing of embarrassing photos and information without the owners' consent. Impersonating and account forgery refers to identity theft, stealing passwords, violating accounts and the creation of fake accounts to fraudulently present the behavior of others. Other behaviors include disclosure of privacy, sexual harassment, and cyberstalking. To comprehensively examine cyberbullying, we coded cyberbullying behaviors from both the perspectives of cyberbullying perpetrators and victims, if mentioned in the studies.

In relation to risk factors, we drew insights from the general aggression model, which contributes to the understanding of personal and situational factors in the cyberbullying of children and adolescents. We chose the general aggression model because (a) it contains more situational factors than other models (e.g., social ecological models) - such as school climate ( 9 ), and (b) we believe that the general aggression model is more suitable for helping researchers conduct a systematic review of cyberbullying risk and protective factors. This model provides a comprehensive framework that integrates domain specific theories of aggression, and has been widely applied in cyberbullying research ( 27 ). For instance, Kowalski and colleagues proposed a cyberbullying encounter through the general aggression model to understand the formation and development process of youth cyberbullying related to both victimization and perpetration ( 9 ). Victims and perpetrators enter the cyberbullying encounter with various individual characteristics, experiences, attitudes, desires, personalities, and motives that intersect to determine the course of the interaction. Correspondingly, the antecedents pertaining to cyberbullying are divided into two broad categories, personal factors and situational factors. Personal factors refer to individual characteristics, such as gender, age, motivation, personality, psychological states, socioeconomic status and technology use, values and perceptions, and other maladaptive behaviors. Situational factors focus on the provocation/support, parental involvement, school climate, and perceived anonymity. Consequently, our coders related to risk factors consisting of personal factors and situational factors from the perspectives of both cyberbullying perpetrators and victims.

We extracted information relating to individual papers and sample characteristics, including authors, year of publication, country, article type, sampling procedures, sample characteristics, measures of cyberbullying, and prevalence and risk factors from both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization perspectives. The key words extraction and coding work were performed twice by two trained research assistants in health informatics. The consistency test results are as follows: the Kappa value with “personal factors” was 0.932, and the Kappa value with “situational factors” was 0.807. The result shows that the coding consistency was high enough and acceptable. Disagreements were resolved through discussion with other authors.

Quality Assessment of Studies

The quality assessment of the studies is based on the recommended tool for assessing risk of bias, Cochrane Collaboration. This quality assessment tool focused on seven items: random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of participants and personnel, blinding of outcome assessment, incomplete outcome data, selective reporting, and other sources of bias ( 28 ). We assessed each item as “low risk,” “high risk,” and “unclear” for included studies. A study is considered of “high quality” when it meets three or more “low risk” requirements. When one or more main flaw of a study may affect the research results, the study is considered as “low quality.” When a lack of information leads to a difficult judgement, the quality is considered to be “unclear.” Please refer to Appendix 1 for more details.

This comprehensive systematic review comprised a total of 63 studies. Appendices 2 , 3 show the descriptive information of the studies included. Among them, 58 (92%) studies measured two or more cyberbullying behavior types. The sample sizes of the youths range from several hundred to tens of thousands, with one thousand to five thousand being the most common. As for study distribution, the United States of America, Spain and China were most frequently mentioned. Table 1 presents the detail.

Table 1 . Descriptive information of studies included (2015–2019).

Prevalence of Global Cyberbullying

Prevalence across countries.

Among the 63 studies included, 22 studies reported on cyberbullying prevalence and 20 studies reported on prevalence from victimization and perpetration perspectives, respectively. Among the 20 studies, 11 national studies indicated that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration ranged from 14.6 to 52.2% and 6.3 to 32%, respectively. These studies were conducted in the United States of America ( N = 4) ( 29 – 32 ), South Korea ( N = 3) ( 33 – 35 ), Singapore ( N = 1) ( 36 ), Malaysia ( N = 1) ( 37 ), Israel ( N = 1) ( 38 ), and Canada ( N = 1) ( 39 ). Only one of these 11 national studies is from an upper middle income country, and the rest are from highincome countries identified by the World Bank ( 40 ). By combining regional and community-level studies, the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration ranged from 13.99 to 57.5% and 6.0 to 46.3%, respectively. Spain reported the highest prevalence of cyberbullying victimization (57.5%) ( 41 ), followed by Malaysia (52.2%) ( 37 ), Israel (45%) ( 42 ), and China (44.5%) ( 43 ). The lowest reported victim rates were observed in Canada (13.99%) and South Korea (14.6%) ( 34 , 39 ). The reported prevalence of cyberbullying victimization in the United States of America ranged from 15.5 to 31.4% ( 29 , 44 ), while in Israel, rates ranged from 30 to 45% ( 26 , 42 ). In China, rates ranged from 6 to 46.3% with the country showing the highest prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration (46.30%) ( 15 , 43 , 45 , 46 ). Canadian and South Korean studies reported the lowest prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration at 7.99 and 6.3%, respectively ( 34 , 39 ).

A total of 10 studies were assessed as high quality studies. Among them, six studies came from high income countries, including Canada, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and South Korea ( 13 , 34 , 39 , 46 – 48 ). Three studies were from upper middle income countries, including Malaysia and China ( 37 , 43 ) and one from a lower middle income country, Nigeria ( 49 ). Figures 2 , 3 describe the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration respectively among high quality studies.

Figure 2 . The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization of high quality studies.

Figure 3 . The prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration of high quality studies.

Prevalence of Various Cyberbullying Behaviors

For the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration, the data were reported in 18 and 14 studies, respectively. Figure 4 shows the distribution characteristics of the estimated value of prevalence of different cyberbullying behaviors with box plots. The longer the box, the greater the degree of variation of the numerical data and vice versa. The rate of victimization and crime of verbal violence, as well as the rate of victimization of other behaviors, such as cyberstalking and digital dating abuse, has a large degree of variation. Among the four specified types of cyberbullying behaviors, verbal violence was regarded as the most commonly reported behaviors in both perpetration and victimization rates, with a wide range of prevalence, ranging from 5 to 18%. Fewer studies reported the prevalence data for visual violence and group violence. Studies also showed that the prevalence of impersonation and account forgery were within a comparatively small scale. Specific results were as follows.

Figure 4 . Cyberbullying prevalence across types (2015–2019).

Verbal Violence

A total of 13 studies reported verbal violence prevalence data ( 15 , 26 , 34 , 37 – 39 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 51 ). Ten studies reported the prevalence of verbal violence victimization ranging from 2.8 to 47.5%, while seven studies claimed perpetration prevalence ranging from 1.5 to 31.8%. Malaysia reported the highest prevalence of verbal violence victimization (47.5%) ( 37 ), followed by China (32%) ( 43 ). China reported that the prevalence of verbal violence victimization ranged from 5.1 to 32% ( 15 , 43 ). Israel reported that the prevalence of verbal violence victimization ranged from 3.4 to 18% ( 26 , 38 , 42 ). For perpetration rate, Malaysia reported the highest level at 31.8% ( 37 ), while a study for Spain reported the lowest, ranging from 3.2 to 6.4% ( 51 ).

Group Violence

The prevalence of group violence victimization was explored within 4 studies and ranged from 5 to 17.8% ( 26 , 34 , 42 , 43 ), while perpetration prevalence was reported in three studies, ranging from 10.1 to 19.07% ( 34 , 43 , 47 ). An Israeli study suggested that 9.8% of respondents had been excluded from the Internet, while 8.9% had been refused entry to a group or team ( 26 ). A study in South Korea argued that the perpetration prevalence of group violence was 10.1% ( 34 ), while a study in Italy reported that the rate of online group violence against others was 19.07% ( 47 ).

Visual Violence

The prevalence of visual violence victimization was explored within three studies and ranged from 2.6 to 12.1% ( 26 , 34 , 43 ), while the perpetration prevalence reported in four studies ranged from 1.7 to 6% ( 34 , 43 , 47 , 48 ). For victimization prevalence, a South Korean study found that 12.1% of respondents reported that their personal information was leaked online ( 34 ). An Israel study reported that the prevalence of outing the picture was 2.6% ( 26 ). For perpetration prevalence, a South Korean study found that 1.7% of respondents had reported that they had disclosed someone's personal information online ( 34 ). A German study reported that 6% of respondents had written a message (e.g., an email) to somebody using a fake identity ( 48 ).

Impersonating and Account Forgery

Four studies reported on the victimization prevalence of impersonating and account forgery, ranging from 1.1 to 10% ( 15 , 42 , 43 ), while five studies reported on perpetration prevalence, with the range being from 1.3 to 9.31% ( 15 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 51 ). In a Spanish study, 10% of respondents reported that their accounts had been infringed by others or that they could not access their account due to stolen passwords. In contrast, 4.5% of respondents reported that they had infringed other people's accounts or stolen passwords, with 2.5% stating that they had forged other people's accounts ( 51 ). An Israeli study reported that the prevalence of being impersonated was 7% ( 42 ), while in China, a study reported this to be 8.6% ( 43 ). Another study from China found that 1.1% of respondents had been impersonated to send dating-for-money messages ( 15 ).

Other Behaviors

The prevalence of disclosure of privacy, sexual harassment, and cyberstalking were also explored by scholars. Six studies reported the victimization prevalence of other cyberbullying behaviors ( 13 , 15 , 34 , 37 , 42 , 43 ), and four studies reported on perpetration prevalence ( 34 , 37 , 43 , 48 ). A study in China found that 1.2% of respondents reported that their privacy had been compromised without permission due to disputes ( 15 ). A study from China reported the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization was 11.9% ( 43 ), while a Portuguese study reported that this was 62% ( 13 ). In terms of perpetration prevalence, a Malaysian study reported 2.7% for sexual harassment ( 37 ).

Risk and Protective Factors of Cyberbullying

In terms of the risk factors associated with cyberbullying among children and adolescents, this comprehensive review highlighted both personal and situational factors. Personal factors referred to age, gender, online behavior, race, health conditions, past experiences of victimization, and impulsiveness, while situational factors consisted of parent-child relationship, interpersonal relationships, and geographical location. In addition, protective factors against cyberbullying included: empathy and emotional intelligence, parent-child relationship, and school climate. Table 2 shows the risk and protective factors for child and adolescent cyberbullying.

Table 2 . Risk and protective factors of cyberbullying among children and adolescents.

In terms of the risk factors associated with cyberbullying victimization at the personal level, many studies evidenced that females were more likely to be cyberbullied than males ( 13 , 26 , 29 , 38 , 43 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 58 ). Meanwhile, adolescents with mental health problems ( 61 ), such as depression ( 33 , 62 ), borderline personality disorder ( 63 ), eating disorders ( 41 ), sleep deprivation ( 56 ), and suicidal thoughts and suicide plans ( 64 ), were more likely to be associated with cyberbullying victimization. As for Internet usage, researchers agreed that youth victims were probably those that spent more time online than their counterparts ( 32 , 36 , 43 , 45 , 48 , 49 , 60 ). For situational risk factors, some studies have proven the relationship between cyberbullying victims and parental abuse, parental neglect, family dysfunction, inadequate monitoring, and parents' inconsistency in mediation, as well as communication issues ( 33 , 64 , 68 , 73 ). In terms of geographical location, some studies have reported that youths residing in city locations are more likely to be victims of cyberbullying than their peers from suburban areas ( 61 ).

Regarding the risk factors of cyberbullying perpetration at the personal level, it is generally believed that older teenagers, especially those aged over 15 years, are at greater risk of becoming cyberbullying perpetrators ( 55 , 67 ). When considering prior cyberbullying experiences, evidence showed that individuals who had experienced cyberbullying or face-to-face bullying tended to be aggressors in cyberbullying ( 35 , 42 , 49 , 51 , 55 ); in addition, the relationship between impulsiveness and cyberbullying perpetration was also explored by several pioneering scholars ( 55 , 72 , 80 ). The situational factors highlight the role of parents and teachers in cyberbullying experiences. For example, over-control and authoritarian parenting styles, as well as inharmonious teacher-student relationships ( 61 ) are perceived to lead to cyberbullying behaviors ( 74 , 75 ). In terms of differences in geographical locations, students residing in cities have a higher rate of online harassment than students living in more rural locations ( 49 ).

In terms of the protective factors in child and adolescent cyberbullying, scholars have focused on youths who have limited experiences of cyberbullying. At the personal level, high emotional intelligence, an ability for emotional self-control and empathy, such as cognitive empathy ability ( 44 , 55 ), were associated with lower rates of cyberbullying ( 57 ). At the situational level, a parent's role is seen as critical. For example, intimate parent-child relationships ( 46 ) and open active communication ( 19 ) were demonstrated to be related to lower experiences of cyberbullying and perpetration. Some scholars argued that parental supervision and monitoring of children's online activities can reduce their tendency to participate in some negative activities associated with cyberbullying ( 31 , 46 , 73 ). They further claimed that an authoritative parental style protects youths against cyberbullying ( 43 ). Conversely, another string of studies evidenced that parents' supervision of Internet usage was meaningless ( 45 ). In addition to conflicting roles of parental supervision, researchers have also looked into the role of schools, and posited that positive school climates contribute to less cyberbullying experiences ( 61 , 79 ).

Some risk factors may be protective factors under another condition. Some studies suggest that parental aggressive communication is related to severe cyberbullying victims, while open communication is a potential protective factor ( 19 ). Parental neglect, parental abuse, parental inconsistency in supervision of adolescents' online behavior, and family dysfunction are related to the direct or indirect harm of cyberbullying ( 33 , 68 ). Parental participation, a good parental-children relationship, communication and dialogue can enhance children's school adaptability and prevent cyberbullying behaviors ( 31 , 74 ). When parental monitoring reaches a balance between control and openness, it could become a protective factor against cyberbullying, and it could be a risk factor, if parental monitoring is too low or over-controlled ( 47 ).

Despite frequent discussion about the risk factors associated with cyberbullying among children and adolescents, some are still deemed controversial factors, such as age, race, gender, and the frequency of suffering on the internet. For cyberbullying victims, some studies claim that older teenagers are more vulnerable to cyberbullying ( 15 , 38 , 52 , 53 ), while other studies found conflicting results ( 26 , 33 ). As for student race, Alhajji et al. argued that non-white students were less likely to report cyberbullying ( 29 ), while Morin et al. observed no significant correlation between race and cyberbullying ( 52 ). For cyberbullying perpetration, Alvarez-Garcia found that gender differences may have indirect effects on cyberbullying perpetration ( 55 ), while others disagreed ( 42 , 61 , 68 – 70 ). Specifically, some studies revealed that males were more likely to become cyberbullying perpetrators ( 34 , 39 , 56 ), while Khurana et al. presented an opposite point of view, proposing that females were more likely to attack others ( 71 ). In terms of time spent on the Internet, some claimed that students who frequently surf the Internet had a higher chance of becoming perpetrators ( 49 ), while others stated that there was no clear and direct association between Internet usage and cyberbullying perpetration ( 55 ).

In addition to personal and situational factors, scholars have also explored other specific factors pertaining to cyberbullying risk and protection. For instance, mindfulness and depression were found to be significantly related to cyber perpetration ( 76 ), while eating disorder psychopathology in adolescents was associated with cyber victimization ( 41 ). For males who were familiar with their victims, such as family members, friends and acquaintances, they were more likely to be cyberstalking perpetrators than females or strangers, while pursuing desired closer relationships ( 13 ). In the school context, a lower social likability in class was identified as an indirect factor for cyberbullying ( 48 ).

This comprehensive review has established that the prevalence of global childhood and adolescent victimization from cyberbullying ranges from 13.99 to 57.5%, and that the perpetration prevalence ranges from 6.0 to 46.3%. Across the studies included in our research, verbal violence is observed as one of the most common acts of cyberbullying, including verbal offensive responses, insults, mocking, threats, slander, and harassment. The victimization prevalence of verbal violence is reported to be between 5 and 47.5%, and the perpetration prevalence is between 3.2 and 26.1%. Personal factors, such as gender, frequent use of social media platforms, depression, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, sleep deprivation, and suicidal tendencies, were generally considered to be related to becoming a cyberbullying victim. Personal factors, such as high school students, past experiences, impulse, improperly controlled family education, poor teacher-student relationships, and the urban environment, were considered risk factors for cyberbullying perpetration. Situational factors, including parental abuse and neglect, improper monitoring, communication barriers between parents and children, as well as the urban environment, were also seen to potentially contribute to higher risks of both cyberbullying victimization and perpetration.

Increasing Prevalence of Global Cyberbullying With Changing Social Media Landscape and Measurement Alterations

This comprehensive review suggests that global cyberbullying rates, in terms of victimization and perpetration, were on the rise during the 5 year period, from 2015 to 2019. For example, in an earlier study conducted by Modecki et al. the average cyberbullying involvement rate was 15% ( 81 ). Similar observations were made by Hamm et al. who found that the median rates of youth having experienced bullying or who had bullied others online, was 23 and 15.2%, respectively ( 82 ). However, our systematic review summarized global children and adolescents cyberbullying in the last 5 years and revealed an average cyberbullying perpetration rate of 25.03%, ranging from 6.0 to 46.3%, while the average victimization was 33.08%, ranging from 13.99 to 57.5%. The underlying reason for increases may be attributed to the rapid changing landscape of social media and, in recent years, the drastic increase in Internet penetration rates. With the rise in Internet access, youths have greater opportunities to participate in online activities, provided by emerging social media platforms.

Although our review aims to provide a broader picture of cyberbullying, it is well-noted in extant research that difficulties exist in accurately estimating variations in prevalence in different countries ( 23 , 83 ). Many reasons exist to explain this. The first largely relates poor or unclear definition of the term cyberbullying; this hinders the determination of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration ( 84 ). Although traditional bullying behavior is well-defined, the definition cannot directly be applied to the virtual environment due to the complexity in changing online interactions. Without consensus on definitions, measurement and cyberbullying types may vary noticeably ( 83 , 85 ). Secondly, the estimation of prevalence of cyberbullying is heavily affected by research methods, such as recall period (lifetime, last year, last 6 months, last month, or last week etc.), demographic characteristics of the survey sample (age, gender, race, etc.), perspectives of cyberbullying experiences (victims, perpetrators, or both victim and perpetrator), and instruments (scales, study-specific questions) ( 23 , 84 , 86 ). The variety in research tools and instruments used to assess the prevalence of cyberbullying can cause confusion on this issue ( 84 ). Thirdly, variations in economic development, cultural backgrounds, human values, internet penetration rates, and frequency of using social media may lead to different conclusions across countries ( 87 ).

Acknowledging the Conflicting Role of the Identified Risk Factors With More Research Needed to Establish the Causality

Although this review has identified many personal and situational factors associated with cyberbullying, the majority of studies adopted a cross-sectional design and failed to reveal the causality ( 21 ). Nevertheless, knowledge on these correlational relationships provide valuable insights for understanding and preventing cyberbullying incidents. In terms of gender differences, females are believed to be at a higher risk of cyberbullying victimization compared to males. Two reasons may help to explain this. First, the preferred violence behaviors between two genders. females prefer indirect harassment, such as the spreading of rumors, while males tend toward direct bullying (e.g., assault) ( 29 ) and second, the cultural factors. From the traditional gender perspective, females tended to perceive a greater risk of communicating with others on the Internet, while males were more reluctant to express fear, vulnerability and insecurity when asked about their cyberbullying experiences ( 46 ). Females were more intolerant when experiencing cyberstalking and were more likely to report victimization experiences than males ( 13 ). Meanwhile, many researchers suggested that females are frequent users of emerging digital communication platforms, which increases their risk of unpleasant interpersonal contact and violence. From the perspective of cultural norms and masculinity, the reporting of cyberbullying is also widely acknowledged ( 37 ). For example, in addition, engaging in online activities is also regarded as a critical predictor for cyberbullying victimization. Enabled by the Internet, youths can easily find potential victims and start harassment at any time ( 49 ). Participating in online activities directly increases the chance of experiencing cyberbullying victimization and the possibility of becoming a victim ( 36 , 45 ). As for age, earlier involvement on social media and instant messaging tools may increase the chances of experiencing cyberbullying. For example, in Spain, these tools cannot be used without parental permission before the age of 14 ( 55 ). Besides, senior students were more likely to be more impulsive and less sympathetic. They may portray more aggressive and anti-social behaviors ( 55 , 72 ); hence senior students and students with higher impulsivity were usually more likely to become cyberbullying perpetrators.

Past experiences of victimization and family-related factors are another risk for cyberbullying crime. As for past experiences, one possible explanation is that young people who had experienced online or traditional school bullying may commit cyberbullying using e-mails, instant messages, and text messages for revenge, self-protection, or improving their social status ( 35 , 42 , 49 , 55 ). In becoming a cyberbullying perpetrator, the student may feel more powerful and superior, externalizing angry feelings and relieving the feelings of helplessness and sadness produced by past victimization experiences ( 51 ). As for family related factors, parenting styles are proven to be highly correlated to cyberbullying. In authoritative families, parents focus on rational behavioral control with clear rules and a high component of supervision and parental warmth, which have beneficial effects on children's lifestyles ( 43 ). Conversely, in indulgent families, children's behaviors are not heavily restricted and parents guide and encourage their children to adapt to society. The characteristics of this indulgent style, including parental support, positive communication, low imposition, and emotional expressiveness, possibly contribute to more parent-child trust and less misunderstanding ( 75 ). The protective role of warmth/affection and appropriate supervision, which are common features of authoritative or indulgent parenting styles, mitigate youth engagement in cyberbullying. On the contrary, authoritarian and neglectful styles, whether with excessive or insufficient control, are both proven to be risk factors for being a target of cyberbullying ( 33 , 76 ). In terms of geographical location, although several studies found that children residing in urban areas were more likely to be cyberbullying victims than those living in rural or suburban areas, we cannot draw a quick conclusion here, since whether this difference attributes to macro-level differences, such as community safety or socioeconomic status, or micro-level differences, such as teacher intervention in the classroom, courses provided, teacher-student ratio, is unclear across studies ( 61 ). An alternative explanation for this is the higher internet usage rate in urban areas ( 49 ).

Regarding health conditions, especially mental health, some scholars believe that young people with health problems are more likely to be identified as victims than people without health problems. They perceive health condition as a risk factor for cyberbullying ( 61 , 63 ). On the other hand, another group of scholars believe that cyberbullying has an important impact on the mental health of adolescents which can cause psychological distress consequences, such as post-traumatic stress mental disorder, depression, suicidal ideation, and drug abuse ( 70 , 87 ). It is highly possible that mental health could be risk factors, consequences of cyberbullying or both. Mental health cannot be used as standards, requirements, or decisive responses in cyberbullying research ( 13 ).

The Joint Effort Between Youth, Parents, Schools, and Communities to Form a Cyberbullying-Free Environment

This comprehensive review suggests that protecting children and adolescents from cyberbullying requires joint efforts between individuals, parents, schools, and communities, to form a cyberbullying-free environment. For individuals, young people are expected to improve their digital technology capabilities, especially in the use of social media platforms and instant messaging tools ( 55 ). To reduce the number of cyberbullying perpetrators, it is necessary to cultivate emotional self-regulation ability through appropriate emotional management training. Moreover, teachers, counselors, and parents are required to be armed with sufficient knowledge of emotional management and to develop emotional management capabilities and skills. In this way, they can be alert to the aggressive or angry emotions expressed by young people, and help them mediate any negative emotions ( 45 ), and avoid further anti-social behaviors ( 57 ).

For parents, styles of parenting involving a high level of parental involvement, care and support, are desirable in reducing the possibility of children's engagement in cyberbullying ( 74 , 75 ). If difficulties are encountered, open communication can contribute to enhancing the sense of security ( 73 ). In this vein, parents should be aware of the importance of caring, communicating and supervising their children, and participate actively in their children's lives ( 71 ). In order to keep a balance between control and openness ( 47 ), parents can engage in unbiased open communication with their children, and reach an agreement on the usage of computers and smart phones ( 34 , 35 , 55 ). Similarly, it is of vital importance to establish a positive communication channel with children ( 19 ).

For schools, a higher priority is needed to create a safe and positive campus environment, providing students with learning opportunities and ensuring that every student is treated equally. With a youth-friendly environment, students are able to focus more on their academic performance and develop a strong sense of belonging to the school ( 79 ). For countries recognizing collectivist cultural values, such as China and India, emphasizing peer attachment and a sense of collectivism can reduce the risk of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization ( 78 ). Besides, schools can cooperate with mental health agencies and neighboring communities to develop preventive programs, such as extracurricular activities and training ( 44 , 53 , 62 ). Specifically, school-based preventive measures against cyberbullying are expected to be sensitive to the characteristics of young people at different ages, and the intersection of race and school diversity ( 29 , 76 ). It is recommended that school policies that aim to embrace diversity and embody mutual respect among students are created ( 26 ). Considering the high prevalence of cyberbullying and a series of serious consequences, it is suggested that intervention against cyberbullying starts from an early stage, at about 10 years old ( 54 ). Schools can organize seminars to strengthen communication between teachers and students so that they can better understand the needs of students ( 61 ). In addition, schools should encourage cyberbullying victims to seek help and provide students with opportunities to report cyberbullying behaviors, such as creating online anonymous calls.

Conclusions and Limitations

The comprehensive study has reviewed related research on children and adolescents cyberbullying across different countries and regions, providing a positive understanding of the current situation of cyberbullying. The number of studies on cyberbullying has surged in the last 5 years, especially those related to risk factors and protective factors of cyberbullying. However, research on effective prevention is insufficient and evaluation of policy tools for cyberbullying intervention is a nascent research field. Our comprehensive review concludes with possible strategies for cyberbullying prevention, including personal emotion management, digital ability training, policy applicability, and interpersonal skills. We highlight the important role of parental control in cyberbullying prevention. As for the role of parental control, it depends on whether children believe their parents are capable of adequately supporting them, rather than simply interfering in their lives, restricting their online behavior, and controlling or removing their devices ( 50 ). In general, cyberbullying is on the rise, with the effectiveness of interventions to meet this problem still requiring further development and exploration ( 83 ).

Considering the overlaps between cyberbullying and traditional offline bullying, future research can explore the unique risk and protective factors that are distinguishable from traditional bullying ( 86 ). To further reveal the variations, researchers can compare the outcomes of interventions conducted in cyberbullying and traditional bullying preventions simultaneously, and the same interventions only targeting cyberbullying ( 88 ). In addition, cyberbullying also reflects a series of other social issues, such as personal privacy and security, public opinion monitoring, multinational perpetration and group crimes. To address this problem, efforts from multiple disciplines and novel analytical methods in the digital era are required. As the Internet provides enormous opportunities to connect young people from all over the world, cyberbullying perpetrators may come from transnational networks. Hence, cyberbullying of children and adolescents, involving multiple countries, is worth further attention.

Our study has several limitations. First, national representative studies are scarce, while few studies from middle and low income countries were included in our research due to language restrictions. Many of the studies included were conducted in schools, communities, provinces, and cities in high income countries. Meanwhile, our review only focused on victimization and perpetration. Future studies should consider more perspectives, such as bystanders and those with the dual identity of victim/perpetrator, to comprehensively analyze the risk and protective factors of cyberbullying.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/ Supplementary Material , further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Author Contributions

SH, CZ, RE, and WZ conceived the study and developed the design. WZ analyzed the result and supervised the study. CZ and SH wrote the first draft. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.634909/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: cyberbullying, children, adolescents, globalization, risk factors, preventive measures

Citation: Zhu C, Huang S, Evans R and Zhang W (2021) Cyberbullying Among Adolescents and Children: A Comprehensive Review of the Global Situation, Risk Factors, and Preventive Measures. Front. Public Health 9:634909. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.634909

Received: 29 November 2020; Accepted: 10 February 2021; Published: 11 March 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Zhu, Huang, Evans and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Wei Zhang, weizhanghust@hust.edu.cn

† These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

78 Cyber Bullying Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best cyber bullying topic ideas & essay examples, 💡 interesting topics to write about cyber bullying, 👍 good essay topics on cyber bullying, ❓ questions about cyberbullying research.

• Cyber Bullying Issue Therefore, the goal of this paper is to analyse who the victims of cyber bullying are and the influence it has on them.
• Cyber Bullying and Positivist Theory of Crime Learning theory approaches to the explanation of criminal behavior have been associated with one of the major sociological theories of crime, the differential association theory.
• The Effects of Cyber-Bullying and Cyber-Stalking on the Society In particular, one should focus on such issues as the disrespect for a person’s autonomy, the growing intensity of domestic violence and deteriorating mental health in the country.
• Cyber Bullying Prevention in Learning Institutions: Systematic Approach To start with, the students are provided with ways of reporting their concern to the educational institution, and when the staff members of the institution receive the report, they evaluate the information together with the […]
• Cyber Bullying Reduction Program Table of Activities Activity Significance Assembling parents/guardians, students and teachers to announce and explain the program in the institution To enlighten parents/guardians, students and teachers about the rules and regulation enacted due to the threat […]
• Discouraging and Eliminating Cyber Bullying Resources Role of the resource/input Statement forms To facilitate information transfer to the staff Counseling Personnel To arm students against the problem Bullying report system To create efficient internet enhance report system Regulation implementation documents […]
• Cyber Bullying and Its Forms The difference between the conventional way of bullying and cyber bullying is that in conventional bullying, there is contact between the bully and the victim.
• Ethics in Technology: Cyber Crimes Furthermore, the defendant altered the data, which compromised the integrity of the information to the detriment of the organizations involved. In this litigation, Aleksey Vladimirovich Ivanov was the defendant while the American government was the […]
• Cyber Bullying as a Virtual Menace The use of information and communication technologies to support a deliberate and most of the time repeated hostile behavior by an individual or groups of people with the sole intention of harming others, one is […]
• Ethical Case: Facebook Gossip or Cyberbullying? The best option to Paige is to apologize publicly and withdraw her comments. The final stage is to act and reflect the outcome of the choice made.
• Freedom Of Speech In The Era Of Cyber Bullying
• The Negative Impacts of Technology on Social Skills: Anxiety, Awkward Conversations, Cyber Bullying, and Lack of Awareness
• Different Consequences of Cyber Bullying in School
• The Study Of Cyber Bullying Victimization On Children Who Are Addicted To The Internet
• The Causes and Harmful Effects of Cyber Bullying
• Why Do Cyber Bullying Laws Need to Be Enforced
• Unsecured Privacy Settings, Cyber Bullying, And Facebook Crime
• Bullying Carried too Far: Cyber Bullying and Violent Bullying
• Cyber Bullying: Misuse of Information and Communications Technology
• Cyber Bullying and Why Parents Need to Monitor Their Children’s Activity
• The Detrimental Effects of Cyber Bullying
• Cyber Bullying, Its Forms, Impact, and Relationship to Juvenile Delinquency
• How Cyber Bullying Affects Our Lives Negatively
• The Effects Of Cyber Bullying On Substance Use And Mental Health
• Cyberbullying : Causes And Dangers Of Cyber Bullying
• The Effects Of Cyber Bullying On The Mental Health Of Middle School Aged Youth
• Is Cyber Bullying Morally Justifiable
• Cyber Bullying And Its Effect On Our Youth
• An Analysis of Cyber Bullying in Today’s World
• Cyber Bullying And Its Effect On The Lives Of The American
• Bullying And The Potential Motives Behind Cyber Bullying
• Cyber Bullying And Its Various Forms
• Bullying In The Digital Age: Electronic Or Cyber Bullying
• Information Technology – Role of Social Networking Cites in Cyber Bullying
• Cyber Bullying : A Consistent Problem For Young People
• Cause And Effect Of Cyber Bullying
• Cyber Bullying, Creating a Culture of Respect
• Cyber Bullying And Its Effect On Adolescents
• Prevention And Intervention Of Cyber Bullying
• Investigating Cyber Bullying Using Social Media
• Cyber Bullying Affects People ‘s Lives More Than One Might Think
• The Cyber Crime and the Cyber Bullying
• The Cause of Cyber Bullying and the Effect of the Mental Development of Teenagers
• Cyber Bullying: An Uncontrollable Epidemic
• The Psychological Impact of Cyber Bullying
• The Eternal Effects Of Cyber Bullying
• Cyber Bullying : Bullying Through Technology
• Why Does Online Anonymity Increase Cyberbullying Among Teenagers?
• Are Laws Effective Strategy Address Issue Cyberbullying?
• Are Schools Doing Enough About Cyberbullying?
• What Are the Causes of Cyberbullying?
• What Is the Prevention of Cyberbullying?
• Is Cyberbullying Related to a Lack of Empathy and Social-Emotional Problems?
• How Often Do Celebrities Suffer From Cyberbullying?
• What Are the Characteristics of Cyberbullying Among Students?
• How Does Social Integration of Children Help to Combat Cyberbullying?
• What Is the Correlation Between Suicide Rates and Cyberbullying?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Society?
• What Is the Correlation Between Depression, Bullying and Cyberbullying?
• Are There Gender Differences in Cyberbullying?
• What Is the Criminal Penalty for Cyberbullying?
• What International Associations Prevent Cyberbullying?
• What Is the Role of Affective and Cognitive Empathy in Cyberbullying?
• What Are the Solutions to Cyberbullying?
• Can Cyberbullying Be Called Cyber Crime?
• What Is the Role of Teachers in Preventing Cyberbullying?
• Can Internet Privacy Be Enough to Prevent Cyberbullying?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Children?
• How Many American Teenagers Are Cyberbullied?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Mental Health?
• How Is Cyberbullying Different From Physical Bullying?
• Is Cyberbullying an Example of Psychological Abuse?
• Can School Policies Reduce Cyberbullying?
• How Does Cyberbullying Affect Teenagers’ Self-Esteem?
• What Are the Consequences of Cyberbullying?
• Has the Proliferation of Social Media Led to an Increase in Cyberbullying?
• Is Cyberbullying Less Criminal Than Traditional Bullying?
• Cyber Security Topics
• Cyberspace Topics
• Crime Ideas
• Mental Health Essay Ideas
• Fake News Research Ideas
• Internet Research Ideas
• Freedom of Speech Ideas
• Online Community Essay Topics
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Conclusion: Implications and Addressing School Bullying and Inequality

• First Online: 22 December 2020

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• Anthony A. Peguero   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4541-865X 4 &
• Jun Sung Hong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2816-9900 5  

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Child and Family Studies ((SSCFS))

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In the concluding Chap. 9 , we discuss why ameliorating violence and victimization should be a priority. Of course, addressing bullying victimization that occurs within schools for all youth is paramount toward sustaining a system that is supposed to facilitate educational progress and sustainability. There is a persistent history of disparities linked to socioeconomic and social status, family cohesion and interactions, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, race, ethnicity, immigration, and religion, and disabilities and special health needs in the U.S. school system. The social problem of bullying within U.S. schools is both complex and diverse. It is clear that the sources and factors associated with the vulnerability and marginalization of youth to being victimized at school presented in this book also intersect. Although homes, schools, and neighborhoods may never be completely bully-free environments, there are several ways to assist students in breaking the bullying and peer victimization cycles. The information presented in this book is also one calling for advocacy, which will suggest that if policymakers, school administrators, and community stakeholders are seeking to address and ameliorate bullying within schools, it is vital to consider the significance of various forms of social inequality.

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Peguero, A.A., Hong, J.S. (2020). Conclusion: Implications and Addressing School Bullying and Inequality. In: School Bullying. Springer Series on Child and Family Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64367-6_9

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Xi’s Warm Embrace of Putin in China Is a Defiance of the West

Western leaders looking for signs that the Chinese leader used his influence on President Vladimir V. Putin to end the war in Ukraine are likely to be disappointed.

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By David Pierson

Days after returning from a trip to Europe where he was lectured about the need to rein in Russia , China’s leader, Xi Jinping, used a summit with President Vladimir V. Putin to convey an uncomfortable reality to the West: His support for Mr. Putin remains steadfast.

Mr. Xi’s talks with Mr. Putin this week were a show of solidarity between two autocrats battling Western pressure. The two leaders put out a lengthy statement that denounced what they saw as American interference and bullying and laid out their alignment on China’s claim to self-ruled Taiwan and Russia’s “legitimate security interests” in Ukraine.

They pledged to expand economic and military ties, highlighted by Mr. Putin’s visit to a cutting-edge Chinese institute for defense research. Mr. Xi even initiated a cheek-to-cheek hug as he bade Mr. Putin farewell on Thursday after an evening stroll in the Chinese Communist Party leadership compound in Beijing.

Western leaders looking for signs of any meaningful divergence between Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin, particularly on the war in Ukraine, would find none. Neither the risk of alienating Europe, a key trading partner needed to help revive China’s struggling economy, nor the threat of U.S. sanctions targeting Chinese banks that aid Russia’s war effort appeared to deter Mr. Xi’s embrace of Mr. Putin.

“The overarching goal of both Putin and Xi is to fight back against what they perceive as their existential enemy, which is the United States and the U.S.-led international order,” said Alicja Bachulska , an expert on Chinese foreign policy at the European Council on Foreign Relations. For China, “Yes, there are tensions with the West, but these tensions won’t lead to any kind of qualitative change in the way China has been approaching Russia and the war in Ukraine.”

Put another way, analysts said, Mr. Xi has already priced in the potential sanctions and tariffs as an acceptable cost for his strategic partnership with Russia. To Mr. Xi, Mr. Putin is an indispensable friend helping reshape the global order in China’s favor. And the more Washington pushes back — including on trade issues such as the latest tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles — the more Mr. Xi feels validated about his choices.

“Moscow’s strategic value to Xi only strengthens as geopolitical competition with the United States becomes more intense,” said Jude Blanchette , a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

What is paramount to Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin is what they call the “democratization of international relations” — essentially the erosion of U.S. dominance and the empowering of nonaligned countries and rogue states to coalesce around their common grievances toward the West.

Their joint statement this week laid out their vision of a new global order. It was one in which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or U.S. security alliances in Asia would not interfere with their territorial claims to Ukraine or Taiwan; the United States could not bully other countries with sanctions because the dollar would no longer be the world’s reserve currency for trade; and autocracies would have the right to rule “according to their own national conditions,” unimpeded by universal values like human rights and social equality.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has intensified this bid to rewire the world. The war has emerged as a way for an axis of anti-Western countries to push back against the United States and its allies. Russia’s war machine is bolstered by Chinese semiconductors and other dual-use technologies; by North Korean missiles and shells; and by Iranian drones. The war has provided an opportunity for Russia, China, North Korea and Iran to deepen military coordination and evade sanctions by facilitating trade outside the reach of the U.S.-led financial system. That could prove useful in any future conflict with the United States.

Mr. Xi may have had “ questions and concerns ” about the war in Ukraine early on, once it became apparent that Russia would not secure a rapid and decisive victory. He bristled when Mr. Putin hinted at using tactical nuclear weapons, a red line for China. And he has had the difficult — and some say, contradictory — task of trying to cast China as neutral on the war to maintain steady ties with the West, while also continuing to align with Moscow.

But the tide may be turning for Mr. Xi. Russian forces are making advances around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, seizing momentum before Ukrainian forces can be resupplied by billions of dollars in arms from the United States. Both Ukrainian and U.S. officials have warned of dire consequences if Ukrainian forces continue to be outmanned and outgunned.

“The more the war in Ukraine veers in Moscow’s direction, the more Xi sees China’s backing of Russia as validated,” Mr. Blanchette said.

Meanwhile, the threat of European tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, a major concern for Beijing, may have lessened this week after Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, and Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish prime minister, warned against following the United States in imposing duties on the Chinese automobiles. Mr. Kristersson said it was “bad to dismantle global trade,” highlighting the divisions within Europe about how to handle China.

“The idea of economic retaliation against China is very scary for many European decision makers,” said Ms. Bachulska of the European Council on Foreign Relations. “There is definitely a mental shift developing in European capitals that China is a strategic rival, but it isn’t necessarily translating into an ability or political willingness to act.”

Mr. Xi’s seemingly ironclad backing of Mr. Putin, no matter what it might cost China in its relations with the West, points to how his focus on building an authoritarian partnership to counter American economic and ideological might has overshadowed China’s growth agenda, analysts say. This could be a grave and shortsighted miscalculation.

“Xi thinks this is a good trade for China. He’s exchanging a United States he can’t control with an isolated, declining Russia that he can,” wrote Michael Schuman, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

“The problem is that Xi is exchanging ties to a twenty-five trillion dollar economy with the advanced technology China needs for a two trillion dollar economy that’s not much more than a gas station,” he added. “It’s not a great bargain.”

For the partnership to remain strong, Mr. Putin will have to stay in power and stave off a humiliating defeat in Ukraine. Mr. Xi will probably do as much as he can to back Mr. Putin, but he will ultimately be guided only by China’s best interests.

Natasha Kuhrt, a security expert at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, said Mr. Xi was preparing for all outcomes in Ukraine. If Russia wins, he will offer to help reconstruct Ukraine, as outlined in China’s 12-point peace proposal last year, a document widely dismissed in the West for being insincere and focused only on protecting Russian interests.

But if Russia loses, Mr. Xi will need to distance himself from Mr. Putin to avoid dragging down China’s global status.

“Whatever happens, China will try to make sure it is pole position,” Ms. Kuhrt said. “If it seems like Russia is going to be defeated, China will put some distance between itself and Moscow. It doesn’t want to be shackled to a corpse.”

Olivia Wang contributed research.

David Pierson covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades. More about David Pierson