Cyberbullying among adolescents in Colombo: prevalence, patterns and risk factors

Abstract

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Cyberbullying is any kind of aggression perpetrated through technology such as e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, websites, text messaging, videos or pictures posted on websites or sent through phones. The growth in the use of internet devices provides adolescents with many opportunities, but also comes with the risk of cyberbullying. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and patterns of cyberbullying, its associated factors, perceived effects and coping strategies among adolescents in Colombo. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 825 Grade12 students in Colombo, using multistage cluster sampling method. The participants completed a self-administered web-based questionnaire. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of cyberbully victimization was 18%, with 73% of the participants having seen others being cyberbullied. Risk factors for cyberbullying included being a boy (OR-3.3, 95% CI 1.5-7.4) and being a victim of traditional bullying (OR 4.2, 95% CI 2.8-6.1). Likelihood of being bullied online was higher among youth who befriended unknown people, shared personal information on public forums and ignored age restrictions while online. Victimization was more likely if online activities were never supervised by parents, and when parents were less skilled at using the internet. Anger, feeling hurt and embarrassment were the commonest perceived effects of cyberbullying with almost 6% indicating that they had wanted to end their life because of it. CONCLUSION: Cyberbullying has the potential to cause psychological distress among adolescents. The association between being bullied online and engaging in risky behaviour while online calls for greater parental awareness and supervision, and capacity building among youth to be able to recognize, cope and address various forms of bullying.