Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

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

Teens With Asthma Face More Bullying

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

New research from Columbia Nursing shows that rural teens with asthma are more likely to be bullied—and that having more severe symptoms also increases risk.

Bullying victimization among adolescents is associated with a number of psychological and social problems that can last a lifetime, Professor Jean-Marie Bruzzese, Ph.D., and her colleagues note in their report, published online in the Journal of Asthma.

While chronic illness, including asthma, is known to increase the risk of being a bully target, the association between asthma and bullying in rural teens has been overlooked in research, according to the authors.

The primary findings from the study, in 1,905 rural high schoolers, included the following:

• 28.6% of students with asthma reported bullying victimization due to asthma
• having asthma was associated with an increased risk of bullying victimization
• more severe asthma was associated with an increased risk of bullying victimization

"The physical manifestation of symptoms and use of medication in front of peers may place these vulnerable adolescents at higher risk for bullying victimization. It is imperative that school administrators create inclusive environments that are accepting of all students' abilities and statuses, but also that healthcare providers provide proper asthma management education to these adolescents," the researchers conclude.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-02-teens-asthma-bullying.html

Teens and Cyberbullying 2022

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by Pew Research Center.

While bullying existed long before the internet, the rise of smartphones and social media has brought a new and more public arena into play for this aggressive behavior.

Nearly half of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 (46%) report ever experiencing at least one of six cyberbullying behaviors asked about in a Pew Research Center survey conducted April 14-May 4, 2022.

The most commonly reported behavior in this survey is name-calling, with 32% of teens saying they have been called an offensive name online or on their cellphone. Smaller shares say they have had false rumors spread about them online (22%) or have been sent explicit images they didn’t ask for (17%).

Some 15% of teens say they have experienced someone other than a parent constantly asking them where they are, what they’re doing or who they’re with, while 10% say they have been physically threatened and 7% of teens say they have had explicit images of them shared without their consent.

In total, 28% of teens have experienced multiple types of cyberbullying.

Read the complete report at the source link below.

Source: Pew Research Center
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/12/15/teens-and-cyberbullying-2022/

‘Social Exclusion’ is the Most Common Form of School Bullying — Not Violence

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

The stereotypical bully usually threatens smaller classmates with physical violence, but researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia find the most common variety of bullying is actually much more subtle. Their study finds that “relational aggression” bullying is a much more common issue.

This variety of bullying usually involves socially excluding peers from group activities and or spreading harmful rumors. As one can imagine, this type of bullying can wreak havoc on a young psyche, both emotionally and socially.

“Previous studies suggest when a kid is excluded from social activities by their peers at school, the outcomes for that kid both short-term and long-term will be just as detrimental as if they got kicked, punched or slapped every day. So this study sheds light on the social exclusion youth often face,” says Chad Rose, an associate professor in the MU College of Education and Human Development and director of the Mizzou Ed Bully Prevention Lab, in a university release.

Researchers analyzed the results of a survey that had been part of a larger school climate assessment project encompassing 26 middle and high schools across five school districts in the southeastern United States. In all, over 14,000 students either agreed or disagreed with various statements connected to pro-bullying attitudes, perceived popularity, and relational aggression.

“What we found is kids that perceive themselves as socially dominant or popular endorse pro-bullying attitudes, yet they don’t perceive themselves as engaging in relational aggression,” Prof. Rose explains.

“There was another group that did not perceive themselves as socially dominant or popular, but they endorsed pro-bullying attitudes and engaged in relational aggression. So, the first group thought bullying was OK but did not see themselves as engaging in it even if they actually were excluding others. While the second group that admitted to engaging in relational aggression may have been excluding others as an attempt to jockey for the position of being more socially dominant and climb the social hierarchy.”

The study was published in Preventing School Failure Alternative Education for Children and Youth.

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/social-exclusion-school-bullying/

More Empathy Among Adolescents Helps Stop Cyberbullying

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

Adolescent bullying has been a long-running problem in society, but the advent of the internet has made it easier than ever for kids to treat each other poorly. Now, researchers from Florida Atlantic University have found that cultivating more empathy among kids is an effective way of preventing cyberbullying.

A few online jokes here or there may seem harmless, but cyberbullying has a link to a long list of negative emotional, psychological, physiological, and behavioral outcomes. Kids can be innocent, but with innocence also comes a certain degree of ignorance. Most adolescent bullies have no idea just how much emotional turmoil they may or may not be causing their target.

While plenty of prior research projects have examined cyberbullying, few studies have examined the role of empathy specifically. The research team behind this latest work chose to focus on bias-based cyberbullying, which they define as “harm and abuse toward others because of one’s identity (race/ethnicity, gender or religion.”

The research project encompassed a national sample of 1,644 12 to 15-year-olds and examined general cyberbullying, race-based cyberbullying, and religion-based cyberbullying. Ultimately, researchers report that those higher in empathy were significantly less likely to cyberbully others in general, and similarly less likely to cyberbully others based on their race or religion. The more empathy a child displayed, the lower their chances of cyberbullying others. Regarding bias-based cyberbullying, higher total empathy levels led to a lower chance of cyberbullying others because of either their race or religion.

The findings appeared in The Journal of Early Adolescence.

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/empathy-adolescents-cyberbullying/

Cyberbullying Increases the Risk of Suicide Among Children More Than ‘Traditional’ Bullying

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

Cyberbullying has a stronger impact on adolescent victims than “traditional,” in-person bullying, a new study reveals. A team from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) says victims of online bullying in early adolescence are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts, going far beyond that of offline bullying.

Researchers at Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI), the University of Pennsylvania, and Reichman University in Israel looked at the records for more than 10,000 children between 10 and 13.

“Being a target of cyberbullying was associated with suicidality over and above experiences of perpetration of offline peer aggression,” study authors write in the journal JAMA Network Open. “The association with suicidality remained for targets of cyberbullying even when accounting for multiple confounders, including experiences or perpetration of offline peer aggression.”

“At a time when young adolescents are spending more time online than ever before, this study underscores the negative impact that bullying in the virtual space can have on its targets,” adds senior author Ran Barzilay, MD, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI) of CHOP, in a media release.

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/cyberbullying-traditional-bullying/

Classroom Insecurity: 1 in 3 Teens Worldwide Don’t Feel Safe in Their Own School

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

A new study from Finland’s University of Turku finds adolescents around the globe fear for their safety with one in three saying they feel unsafe in their own school.

Overall, their survey of more than 21,000 teens between 13 and 15 discovered that 31.4 percent feel unsafe at school. Importantly, these children did not come from the United States, researchers surveyed adolescents from 13 nations throughout Europe and Asia between 2011 and 2017.

On one end of the spectrum, two in three children in Japan say they feel unsafe when they go to class, with 69.8 percent of girls and 68.2 percent of boys saying this. On the opposite end, just 11.5 percent of girls in Finland and 7.7 percent of boys in Norway fear going to school.

The study found that if a student feels their teacher cares about them, they’re more likely to feel safe in school. Fair, clear, and consistent rules while in class also contributed to a student’s feeling of safety.

Meanwhile, students who experience bullying reported feeling less safe on school grounds. Researchers add that the result of feeling less safe at school can lead to mental health problems, which stay with a child throughout their life.

“Physically, cognitively and emotionally safe school environment is essential for the development and educational success of children and young people. All children have the right to attend schools where they can feel safe and protected without fear or anxiety of any danger. In the wake of recent school shootings, we must take steps to enhance safety in educational settings and protect students from all forms of violence and abuse,” said research leader Dr. Andre Sourander.

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/teens-dont-feel-safe-in-school/

Kids With Food Allergies Are Often Targets for Bullies

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

Life is challenging enough for teens and pre-teens with food allergies. But bullying often comes with the territory, making their situation worse.

In a new study of more than 100 kids with food allergies, nearly one-third said they had been subject to some form of food allergy-related bullying.

"We also found that only 12% of parents reported that their child was bullied for food allergies, which tells us they don't always know when bullying is happening," said study lead author Linda Herbert.

The study involved 121 children, aged 9 to 15, along with their caregivers. The kids were allergic to at least one of eight common foods, including peanuts, tree nuts, cow's milk, eggs, wheat, soy, shellfish, and fish.

Herbert and her team noted that this type of bullying is a recognized concern, but their investigation was designed to gain more insight into the scope of the problem.

For example, explained Herbert, "one of the questions that early adolescents answered asked for a simple 'yes' or 'no' in response to the question: 'Were you ever bullied, teased, or harassed about your food allergy?'"

Just 17% said they had been.

But digging deeper, the team asked the kids "to select if anything in a list of experiences had ever happened to them." The list included having had an allergen waved at them, being threatened with an allergen, or being excluded from an activity due to their food allergy.

In response, nearly one-third (31%) said they had, in fact, been bullied in one way or another.

Among those who had, two-thirds said they had been verbally harassed, teased, threatened, intimidated, or criticized because of their allergy.

And just over half of bullying victims said they had been subjected to physical taunting. Some had a problematic food tossed at them, or even slipped into their meal on purpose.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/10-6-kids-food-allergies-can-often-bring-on-bullying-study-2655219151.html

Sibling Bullying Associated with Poor Mental Health Outcomes Years Later

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on MedicalXpress.

Young people who are repeatedly bullied by siblings are more likely to suffer from poor mental health and wellbeing issues later in adolescence, a new study has suggested.

The new research, which analyzed data from over 17,000 participants, found that as the frequency of bullying increased in early-to-middle adolescence, so did the severity of mental health outcomes in their late teens.

The paper also found that sibling bullying in early adolescence, irrespective of whether the individual was a victim, perpetrator, or both, has a long-term effect on both positive and negative mental health in late adolescence.

Lead author, Dr. Umar Toseeb from the University of York's Department of Education, said: "Whilst sibling bullying has previously been linked to poor mental health outcomes, it was not known whether there is a relationship between the persistence of sibling bullying and the severity of mental health outcome, in the longer term."

"In the first study of its kind, we comprehensively investigated a whole range of mental health outcomes, which included measures of both positive (eg wellbeing and self-esteem) and negative (eg symptoms of psychological distress) mental health.

"Of particular note was the finding that even those who bullied their siblings, but weren't bullied themselves (ie the bullies) had poorer mental health outcomes years later," Dr. Toseeb added.

"Sibling Bullying: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Associations with Positive and Negative Mental Health during Adolescence" was published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-sibling-bullying-poor-mental-health.html

Three Factors Exacerbate Suicidal Behavior in Bullied Teens

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on MedicalXpress.

James Cook University researchers have found three lifestyle factors that predispose bullied adolescents to plan or attempt suicide.

Dr. Yaqoot Fatima from James Cook University and the University of Queensland was part of a team that analyzed data from a survey of more than 280,000 students aged 13–17 from 90 countries.

"Compared to adolescents who were not bullied, adolescents who experienced bullying have more than twice the odds of thinking about and planning suicide, and close to three times greater odds of attempting it," said lead author Mr. Md. Mehedi Hasan from the University of Queensland.

Dr. Fatima said more than 30 percent of the students surveyed had been bullied and more than 10 percent of these had attempted suicide.

The researchers said there were a number of factors linking bullying and suicide, but three were significant.

"The strongest links between bullying and suicidal behaviors were loneliness, sleep disturbances and alcohol consumption.

"Nearly one-fifth of the total association between bullying and suicidal ideation was linked to loneliness. Sleep disturbances and alcohol consumption were the link between bullying and suicidal behaviors in 4 to 9 percent of cases," said Dr. Fatima.

She said the three factors may reinforce each other, with alcohol consumption linked to sleep disruption and loneliness, bullies targeting lonely people, and loneliness a common end result of chronic peer bullying as victims become isolated.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-factors-exacerbate-suicidal-behavior-bullied.html