Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization Independently Predict Changes in Problematic Internet Gaming in a Longitudinal Sample.

PURPOSE Bullying and problematic Internet gaming (PIG) are two concerning phenomena among adolescents. Research suggests an association between them; however, longitudinal studies are scarce. Therefore, this study examined whether traditional and cybervictimization are prospective risk factors for PIG and how gender, school type, and age influence these relationships. METHODS Adolescents (grades 5-13; N = 4,390) answered two surveys one year apart which were linked by individual codes. They were classified as "victims" based on the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire-Revised. Changes in PIG (T2-T1) were computed based on nine items reflecting the diagnostic criteria for DSM-5 Internet Gaming Disorder. RESULTS Traditional and cybervictimization independently predicted changes in PIG. The emergence of traditional victimization only, cybervictimization only, and particularly, both forms of victimization simultaneously, was associated with an increase in PIG. A decrease in PIG was only found if victimization terminated in both contexts. Further, an additive effect was found if traditional victimization newly extended to cyberspace. For boys and B-level students, the emergence of traditional victimization was associated with a larger increase in PIG than for girls and A-level students, when compared to the absence of traditional victimization. For boys, this also applied for cybervictimization. DISCUSSION The emergence of bullying victimization in either an offline or online context appears to be a risk factor for PIG. Importantly, victimization must be stopped in both contexts for a decrease in PIG. Therefore, prevention programs need to focus on bullying offline as well as online to counter PIG. Efforts should especially focus on boys and B-level students

Does parental monitoring moderate the relationship between bullying and adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal behavior? A community-based self-report study of adolescents in Germany

Background: Being a victim of bullying in school is clearly linked to various social, emotional, and behavioral problems including self-harm behavior. However, it is not known whether even occasional victimization has similar negative consequences and whether protective factors such as social support may prevent those harmful developments. The present study therefore focuses on the nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behavior (SB) in victims of bullying and the potentially moderating effect of parental monitoring. Methods: In all, a cross-sectional sample of 647 adolescents (mean age 12.8 years) were surveyed concerning bullying experiences, NSSI and SB, and parental monitoring. Results: A total of 14.4 % of respondents reported being a victim of frequent bullying in the past few months (with verbal and social bullying playing the most important role), which increased the risks of both NSSI (OR = 11.75) and SB (OR = 6.08). This relationship could also be shown for occasional victims of bullying (35.6 %), although to a lesser extent. Parental monitoring had a significant protective effect on SB in victims of occasional bullying. However, parental monitoring did not show any protective effect in victims of repetitive bullying. Conclusions: Victims of bullying show a substantial risk for engaging in self-harm behavior. Therefore, the dissemination of anti-bullying programs in schools would probably also prevent such disorders. Parental participation in school-based prevention may increase its effect; this also matches the results of the present study, showing that parental monitoring may be able to buffer the negative effects of bullying victimization, at least to a certain degree

Effects and moderators of the Olweus bullying prevention program (OBPP) in Germany

Bullying is a common and significant risk factor for mental and physical health problems. The aim of the outlined study was to evaluate the German version of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) and to investigate potential moderators of its effectiveness. 23 schools started with the implementation and all students were invited to complete the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire annually. For our analyses, the data from grades 5 to 9 were used (t0: n = 5759; t1: n = 5416; t2: n = 4894). 16 out of the 23 schools completed the 18-months implementation period. The effectiveness of the program statistically depended on its complete implementation (χ2(2) = 7.62, p = 0.022). In the group of non-completers, the prevalence of victimization did not change during the observation period of 2 years (χ2(2) = 4.64, p = 0.099). In the group of the completer schools, a significant decrease in bullying between t0 and t1 was found for victims (t0: 9.14%; t1: 6.87%; OR = 0.74; 95% CI 0.62-0.88; p = 0.001) and perpetrators (t0: 6.16%; t1: 4.42%; OR = 0.70; 95% CI 0.55-0.89; p = 0.004). After 24 months (t2), this decrease could be retained (victims: t2: 6.83%; OR = 0.73; 95%CI = 0.61-0.88; p = 0.001; perpetrators: t2: 4.63%; OR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.57-0.92; p = 0.009). Furthermore, we found the following moderators of program effectiveness in the completer schools: (1) gender (with a stronger decrease among victimized girls; p = 0.004) and (2) school grade (with a stronger decrease of victimization among grades 5-7; p = 0.028). The German version of the OBPP significantly reduced the bullying prevalence in the completer schools. Effective prevention needs time and resources: fulfilling the 18-months implementation period was the basis for positive results

Mobbing als Risikofaktor im Kindes- und Jugendalter

Mobbing wurde lange Zeit als normales Interaktionsmuster zwischen Kindern und Jugendlichen betrachtet. Die Forschung der letzten Jahre hat diese Sichtweise verändert und die z. T. langanhaltenden negativen Konsequenzen von Mobbing aufgezeigt. Besonders die betroffenen Opfer weisen ein erhöhtes Risiko für ein breites Spektrum psychischer Störungen auf, wobei der Zusammenhang zu Angststörungen, Depressionen, psychosomatischen Problemen, Selbstverletzung und Suizidalität besonders umfassend belegt wurde. Der negative Einfluss von Mobbing betrifft viele Lebensbereiche der Opfer: psychologisch, sozial und sogar ökonomisch. Mobbing ist eine Form der Misshandlung unter Gleichaltrigen. Dementsprechend trägt es in hohem Maße zur Entwicklung schwerwiegender psychischer Probleme bei und verdient ein hohes Maß an Aufmerksamkeit und Aktivität im Bereich der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, ist aber auch ein zentrales Anliegen der allgemeinen öffentlichen Gesundheit

Under the skin: does psychiatric outcome of bullying victimization in school persist over time? A prospective intervention study

Background: Research has shown a direct path between peer victimization and poor mental health outcomes. However, the impact of bullying prevention on mental health is a largely unexplored field. Therefore, our study examined the longitudinal association between bullying development and trajectories of psychiatric symptoms (emotional problems, total difficulties, nonsuicidal self-injury, and suicidality) and health-related quality of life (HRQL) during the implementation of school-based bullying prevention. Methods: Data of 4,873 pupils (grades 5-13) were collected in 23 schools implementing the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP). Self-report questionnaires were administered at three annual assessment waves and individual codes enabled the association of repeated assessments to the same pupil. Latent growth curve models (LGCMs) were used to examine the relation among bullying status and mental health outcome with mixed-effects linear regressions estimating the association of changes in bullying with changes in continuous scores and mixed-effects logistic regressions for categorical variables. Results: Latent growth curve models revealed an improvement of mental health and HRQL through the termination of bullying for every outcome variable of interest (all p .117). Conclusions: Latent growth curve models clearly showed that the adverse psychosocial consequences of bullying arise quickly but seem to reduce much slower and partly persist over time. Future long-term studies are necessary to clarify if mental health problems will return to baseline after several years or if residual symptoms will remain

Cyberbullying and School Bullying Are Related to Additive Adverse Effects among Adolescents.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to examine whether (a) cyberbullying has unique associations with mental health problems, risk-taking, and self-harm behavior in victims and perpetrators when compared to school bullying and (b) if cyberbullying is associated with an additional burden for students already involved in school bullying. METHODS Data were collected from 6,561 students across 23 schools in Germany (grades 5-13). The sample was divided into the following four groups: cyber-only involvement (victims = 1.9%, perpetrators = 0.6%), school-only involvement (victims = 17.2%, perpetrators = 11.9%), dual involvement (victims = 5.7%, perpetrators = 2.9%), and noninvolvement (victims = 75.3%, perpetrators = 84.6%). Multilevel mixed-effects regression analysis was conducted to examine group differences in mental health (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, KIDSCREEN-10), risk-taking, and self-harm behavior (e.g., substance use, suicide attempts). RESULTS Cyber-only bullying had unique associations with mental health problems and risk-taking behavior in victims (lower levels of peer relationship problems: p < 0.001, greater substance use: p < 0.05) and perpetrators (higher levels of peer relationship problems: p < 0.05) when compared to school-only bullying. Dual victims and perpetrators reported significantly more mental health problems (victims: χ2(5) = 221.58, p < 0.001; perpetrators: χ2(5) = 116.40, p < 0.001) and were more likely to report risk-taking and self-harm behavior (victims: χ2(7) = 115.15, p < 0.001; perpetrators: χ2(7) = 38.79, p < 0.001) than students involved in school-only bullying. CONCLUSION Cyber-only bullying appears to be related to specific mental health issues beyond those associated with school-only bullying. Cyberbullying and school bullying go along with additive mental health problems, risk-taking, and self-harm behavior in both victims and perpetrators. Thus, bullying prevention and intervention programs should also target cyberbullying

The cost incurred by victims of bullying from a societal perspective: estimates based on a German online survey of adolescents

Being a victim of bullying is linked to various social, emotional and behavioral problems potentially leading to a reduced quality of life. Furthermore, victims of bullying may cause extensive costs for society, for example by an above-average need for healthcare services. The present study was designed to quantify the costs and the loss of quality of life attributable to bullying by comparing victims with a control group of non-bullied students. A cross-sectional sample of 1293 adolescents (mean age 14.07, SD = 1.36) and their parents reported on bullying victimization, quality of life (adolescents' self-report), and annual direct (medical and non-medical) as well as indirect costs (parents' self-report) from a societal perspective (all expressed in €, year 2014 and 2015). For frequent (20.6% of our sample; costs: €8461.80 p.a.) but not occasional (13.3%; costs: €2850.06) bullying, victimization was associated with significantly higher costs compared to non-bullied adolescents (costs: €3138.00; annual difference between frequently bullied students and controls: €5323.01 p.a.; p = 0.008). Cost drivers included increased direct medical costs, but mostly indirect costs caused by productivity losses of the parents. Self-reported quality of life of frequent victims was considerably reduced (T = - 10.96; p < 0.001); also occasional bullying showed significantly reduced values in global quality of life (T = - 5.73; p < 0.001). The present findings demonstrate that frequent bullying is associated with substantial cost to society and reduced quality of life of victims. This observation underscores the need for effective school-based bullying prevention and suggests a high potential of effective programs to be cost effective as well