RT Book
T1 Bullying in school and cyberspace: Associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents
A1 Cross, Donna
A1 Shaw, Therese
A1 Perren, Sonja
A1 Dooley, Julian
A2 Shaw, Therese
A2 Perren, Sonja
A2 Dooley, Julian
LA English
YR 2010
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1866309641
AB Background Cyber-bullying (i.e., bullying via electronic means) has emerged as a new form of bullying that presents unique challenges to those victimised. Recent studies have demonstrated that there is a significant conceptual and practical overlap between both types of bullying such that most young people who are cyber-bullied also tend to be bullied by more traditional methods. Despite the overlap between traditional and cyber forms of bullying, it remains unclear if being a victim of cyber-bullying has the same negative consequences as being a victim of traditional bullying. Method The current study investigated associations between cyber versus traditional bullying and depressive symptoms in 374 and 1320 students from Switzerland and Australia respectively (52% female; Age: M = 13.8, SD = 1.0). All participants completed a bullying questionnaire (assessing perpetration and victimisation of traditional and cyber forms of bullying behaviour) in addition to scales on depressive symptoms. Results Across both samples, traditional victims and bully-victims reported more depressive symptoms than bullies and non-involved children. Importantly, victims of cyber-bullying reported significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, even when controlling for the involvement in traditional bullying/victimisation. Conclusions Overall, cyber-victimisation emerged as an additional risk factor for depressive symptoms in adolescents involved in bullying