2023-09-20 19:46:48
Young people who have been victimized online are at increased risk of depression, anxiety, eating disorder symptoms, suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts, the study released Wednesday found.
The study also found that transgender and non-binary youth, as well as women attracted to other women, are at higher risk of being victims of cyberbullying.
“Targeted victimization specifically related to adolescents’ sexual orientation and gender identity is common and can be particularly harmful to the mental health of LGBTQ adolescents,” the report states.
Adolescents living with chronic health conditions including asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, autism spectrum disorders, and alcohol spectrum disorders fetal, are also more likely to experience cyberbullying, especially if they live in low-income households.
“The daily management required by numerous conditions, as well as activity limitations among some young people, can, for example, distinguish young people from their peers and confer upon them a social disadvantage,” the study mentions.
This assessed the responses of 13,602 adolescents aged 12 to 17, as well as their parents, as part of the 2019 Canadian Child and Youth Health Survey.
The study found that 24.6% of adolescents had been cybervictimized at least once in the year before participating in the study.
The rate of cyberbullying could be even higher, warned Hayley Hamilton, a senior scientist at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Hamilton and her colleagues conducted a survey of Ontario youth in grades 7 to 12 in 2021: it found that 30 per cent of teens reported being victims of cyberbullying in the past year.
This is an increase from around 22% in previous years, the scientist noted, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic was a likely factor, as children and adolescents were spending much more time online than in previous years. ‘previously.
“One of the things that’s important to remember is that we also find associations between frequency of social media use and cyberbullying,” Hamilton said.
Data to update
New studies with more recent data are needed to determine whether cyberbullying has remained at the same level or increased since 2021, or whether it has decreased as pandemic restrictions have been lifted, she said.
“It could go either way. “It’s about whether or not people maintain the habits they had during the pandemic,” said Hamilton, noting that young people have also suffered from psychological distress, anxiety and depression. increased during the pandemic.
One of the problems with cyberbullying compared to in-person bullying at school is that “the audience is much bigger and broader,” Ms. Hamilton said.
“Cyberbullying is hard to escape. You know, you can walk out of a school and not see that person until the next day if it’s face to face, she recalled. But when it comes to cyberbullying, you have your phone and it follows you everywhere.”
Ms Hamilton said the study findings highlight the importance of parents being aware of what their children are doing online and having open discussions about online activities and experiences.
Low representation of certain groups
Although Statistics Canada considers its survey generally representative of children and youth across the country, the fact is that it did not reach First Nations adolescents living on reserves or youth living in foster homes or institutions, said Mila Kingsbury, an agency analyst who co-wrote the report.
This is because participants were recruited from the pool of people receiving the Canada Child Benefit, which covers the majority of families with children, she explained.
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