Researchers Find Adolescent Cyberbullies Also More Likely to be Victims

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

Early adolescents who engage in cyberbullying are more likely to become victims, according to new research from the University of the Sunshine Coast.

In a recent journal article supervised by researchers at UniSC’s Thompson Institute, lead researcher Lia Mills said the study originally set out to establish if there were any direct links between cyberbullying 12-year-olds and gender, social connectedness, and impulsivity.

The results painted an entirely different picture.

“We didn’t find any significant relationship between cyberbullying and social connectedness, impulsivity, or gender, but we did find that low social connectedness predicted high levels of impulsivity,” Mills said.

“We also found that those who participate in cyberbullying perpetration are also more likely to be cyber victims—and vice versa.”

This group is at particularly high risk for depression, anxiety, and less engagement with school.

“The good news is that our sample of 12-year-olds reported having very low levels of cyberbullying experience and involvement,” Mills said.

The work is published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-02-adolescent-cyberbullies-victims.html