How Does Cyberbullying Affect the Youth Mental Health? - Annotated Bibliography

Arseneault, Louise, Lucy Bowes, and Sania Shakoor. "Bullying victimization in youths and mental health problems:'Much ado about nothing'?." Psychological medicine 40.5 (2010): 717-729.

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A research by Arseneault, Bowes, and Shakoor found that youths who are victims of cyberbullying are mentally distressed and have challenges in adjusting themselves. They find it difficult in externalizing and internalizing problems (718). Therefore, the researchers evaluated whether the empirical evidence available proved that psychopathology is caused by bullying victimization and if it is whether it should be intervened to prevent it. The process involved evaluating out whether the surroundings of children can lead them to distress. The study found out that a likely victim of cyberbullying can be identified in advance by their characteristics and family background such as family set up. Such children are usually distressed. Children's mental health is affected negatively by cyberbullying alone. Those children who are victimized at home are more prone to harassment in school. They tend to be anxious and distressed (725). The effects of cyberbullying can last for many years until late adolescence age. The child's community is left with the role of dealing with effects of cyberbullying such as psychiatric disease. Victims of cyberbullying are violent in nature, they portray psychotic behavior and can end up harming themselves. Bullying happens mostly in schools because that is where children spend most of their time. They tend to perform poorly in schools compared to the other children. Boys are the greatest perpetrators of bullying compared to girls at the age of 11 to 16 years of age. There are two categories of cyber bullies- bullying victims who in turn bully others and the pure victims of bullies. The empirical evidence in this study indicates that bullying victimization may lead to psychopathology in children and adolescent (726). Good parenting especially supportive and warm parenting can help bullying victims recover and deal with the bullying.

Arseneault, Louise, et al. "Being bullied as an environmentally mediated contributing factor to children's internalizing problems: a study of twins discordant for victimization." Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine 162.2 (2008): 145-150.

According to Arseneault, Louise, et al., bullying results in problems of internalizing in children. The research was carried out on children in the United Kingdom. Children between the age of 7 and 10 years were reported to have a problem in internalizing. The age of the victims could have emanated from the fact that the sample of children used were twin pairs ranging from the age of 7 and 9 years. Most of the twins who were monozygotic had more problems in internalizing after being bullied, unlike their cotwin who were not bullied. The study found out that children bullied at a young age are likely to suffer from internalizing problems because bullying is an environmentally mediated factor of the problem. Therefore, intervention programs should be initiated early enough to protect young children from mental health problems.

Bannink, Reinke, et al. "Cyber and traditional bullying victimization as a risk factor for mental health problems and suicidal ideation in adolescents." PloS one 9.4 (2014): e94026.

In their research, Bannik, Reinke, et al. found out that cyberbullying victimization is one of the key factors that lead suicidal ideation and other mental health problem in adolescent children. Bullying is classified into four types which are indirect bullying involving gossiping and spreading rumors, social exclusion, verbal bullying, and physical bullying such as assaulting a victim physically. The study also intended to find out whether cyberbullying affects girls and boys similarly. It was carried out for a three-year period of study on 3181 secondary school students in their first year. Traditional bullying involves carrying out bullying offline. It is more likely to lead to suicidal thoughts than cyberbullying victimization. This is because traditional bullying is carried out physically and more so face to face and that may aggravate its impact on the victim. Such victims have a high likelihood of committing suicide. Longitudinal associations between suicide, mental health, and cyberbullying have not been carried out on large samples and if carried out results may be altered. Cyberbullying victimization is highly associated with mental health problems in adolescents. However, this does not mean that the traditional bullying has no association with mental health sickness. Cyberbullying highly affects girls more than boys. Girls who are bullied via traditional method may get into depression and later generate suicidal thought, however, this rarely happens in boys. Following the research, it is recommended that intervention programs should be administered early in life to prevent the development of mental disorders later in their adulthood life. Problems of mental health in children at an early age may lead to psychiatric disorders in their maturity.

Klomek, Anat Brunstein, Andre Sourander, and Madelyn Gould. "The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: a review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings." The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 55.5 (2010): 282-288.

Klomek, Sourander, and Gould carried out a research on adolescent children and young adults in relation to bullying and suicide. With the advent of the internet, many young people have been subjected to cyberbullying besides traditional bullying. It is for that reason that many young children and adults have been committing suicide in developed and developing countries. The study found out that children and young adults exposed to bullying have a high probability to attempt to commit suicide especially in cases of comorbid psychopathology. As a result, victims of bullying should be screened actively to avoid suicide attempts and psychiatric problems. The research concluded that in the short term, there is more than a high correlation between suicidality and bullying and peer victimization. Boys and girls react differently to bullying and girls are affected most. Most of the victims of bullying fall in the school going age. According to the study, approximately 20% to 30% of pupils and students in the school are exposed to bullying either as bullies or as victims of bullies. Those who are involved in bullying as victims or bullies are highly likely to suffer from the repercussions of the vice than those who are not exposed at all. Being bullied at an early age leads to psychiatric problems in the future. More so from the age of 15 years if they were bullied while very young in life. Some of the problems that they face include low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. In cross-sectional studies, there is a high risk and association observed between bullying and suicidal ideation. They are few longitudinal studies on the association between suicide and bullying. It is therefore hard to determine the association between the two in the long term. However, the few studies conducted indicate that there is a close association between suicide and bullying. The study by Klomek, Sourander and Gould involve cross-sectional research and few longitudinal studies. The study recommends that young children who are frequently exposed to bullying should evaluate for psychiatric problems.

Schneider, Shari Kessel, et al. "Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A regional census of high school students." American journal of public health 102.1 (2012): 171-177.

A research on the association between psychological distress and school bullying among high school students by Schneider, Shari Kessel, et al. indicates that there were high levels of distress among students who are involved in school bullying and cyberbullying. The study was carried out a survey of high school students from a regional census in MetroWest Massachusetts. They survey included suicidality, self-injury, and symptoms of depression as a sign of psychological distress among the victims of bullying. Nonheterosexually youths who were identified in the survey were bullied most in the school. The victims of cyberbullying and school bullying indicated high tendencies to commit suicide. This is after undergoing depression and distress for some time. It is therefore important to prevent bullying in school because it affected students' performance in school and resulted in mental problems to some victims of bullying.

Bond, Lyndal, et al. "Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers." BMJ 323.7311 (2001): 480-484.

Bullying is a major cause of emotional problems in young teenagers according to a study by Bond, Lyndal, et al. If a victim of bullying is repeatedly exposed to bullying and peer victimization at an early age, it leads to cases of anxiety or depression. The study was carried over a period of two years on 2680 students in Victoria secondary schools Australia. Most of the students were between the age of 13 years and 14 years of age. After, analysis of the survey, it was found that students who had been bullied earlier reported some signs of anxiety or depression. The symptoms were higher in girls than in boys who self-reported to the authority. The study indicated that recurrent victimization, sociodemographic factors, and social relations were among the factors that led to anxiety and depression-related symptoms. However. Past cases of emotional problems do not lead to victimization in the future. Therefore, intervention programs should be implemented to prevent victimization in adolescents which later leads issues of mental health.

Works Cited

Arseneault, Louise, et al. "Being bullied as an environmentally mediated contributing factor to children's internalizing problems: a study of twins discordant for victimization." Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine 162.2 (2008): 145-150.

Arseneault, Louise, Lucy Bowes, and Sania Shakoor. "Bullying victimization in youths and mental health problems:'Much ado about nothing'?." Psychological medicine 40.5 (2010): 717-729.

Bannink, Reinke, et al. "Cyber and traditional bullying victimization as a risk factor for mental health problems and suicidal ideation in adolescents." PloS one 9.4 (2014): e94026.

Bond, Lyndal, et al. "Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers." BMJ 323.7311 (2001): 480-484.

Klomek, Anat Brunstein, Andre Sourander, and Madelyn Gould. "The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: a review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings." The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 55.5 (2010): 282-288

Schneider, Shari Kessel, et al. "Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A regional census of high school students." American journal of public health 102.1 (2012): 171-177.