Cyber Stalking, Cyber Harassment and Adult Mental Health: A Systematic Review

As Internet use increases, there is a growing risk of online harms, including cyber stalking and cyber harassment. However, there has been limited research investigating the impact of such online harms upon adults’ well-being. This paper engages in a systematic literature review concerning the mental health impact of online stalking and harassment for adult victims to further understand their experiences and the effects these have on their lives. Our research utilised the PRISMA technique to review papers published in eight online databases. A total of 1,204 articles were extracted, and ultimately 43 articles analysed. Forty-two of the reviewed articles reported that victims of cyber stalking and/or harassment experienced a multitude of harmful and detrimental consequences for their mental health including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and panic attacks. Victims recounted the lack of support they received from the criminal justice system, and their subsequent distrust of technology post abuse. Only one study found no relationship between cyber abuse victimisation and the well-being dimensions they examined. Our research highlights the need to devise practical solutions to tackle and minimise this victimisation. Furthermore, it underlines the necessity for adult education concerning safer technology use, as well as for researchers to be transparent regarding the platforms that victims have been abused on so we can better infer where and how exactly individuals need support to interact safely online

Processing of Body Odor Signals by the Human Brain

Brain development in mammals has been proposed to be promoted by successful adaptations to the social complexity as well as to the social and non-social chemical environment. Therefore, the communication via chemosensory signals might have been and might still be a phylogenetically ancient communication channel transmitting evolutionary significant information. In humans, the neuronal underpinnings of the processing of social chemosignals have been investigated in relation to kin recognition, mate choice, the reproductive state and emotional contagion. These studies reveal that human chemosignals are probably not processed within olfactory brain areas but through neuronal relays responsible for the processing of social information. It is concluded that the processing of human social chemosignals resembles the processing of social signals originating from other modalities, except that human social chemosignals are usually communicated without the allocation of attentional resources, that is below the threshold of consciousness. Deviances in the processing of human social chemosignals might be related to the development and maintenance of mental disorders

Cyberbullying in College

Cyberbullying is commonly presented as affecting K-12 populations. Current research suggests cyberbullying continues in college. A diverse sample of 613 university students was surveyed to study their cyberbullying experiences in high school and college. Nineteen percent of the sample reported being a victim of cyberbullying in college and 35% of this subsample reported being cyberbullied in high school. Additional findings and practical implications are presented

Cyberbullying in College : Frequency, Characteristics, and Practical Implications

Sage Open, Vol. 4, No. 1Cyberbullying is commonly presented as affecting K-12 populations. Current research suggests cyberbullying continues in college. A diverse sample of 613 university students was surveyed to study their cyberbullying experiences in high school and college. Nineteen percent of the sample reported being a victim of cyberbullying in college and 35% of this subsample reported being cyberbullied in high school. Additional findings and practical implications are presented