[xtypo_dropcap]F[/xtypo_dropcap]rom a recent study of 6th- to 10th-grade students conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), students who were involved in bullying behavior whether as a bully or as a victim experience higher levels of depression than those who were uninvolved.
In the booming digital age, popular communication channels have become a breeding ground for online bullying among the teenage population. Cyberbullying, which involves aggressive behavior communicated electronically though computers or cell phones, has joined traditional bullying behaviors such as physical violence, verbal harassment, or relational isolation.
Common cases of cyberbullying include using a fraudulent name to trick others online, spreading lies and rumors about victims, tricking people into revealing personal information, and sending hostile text messages.
“Approximately 53 million American youth, ages 4 to 16, access the Internet from their homes each day,” according to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).
The NCPC reported that 43 percent of youth surveyed have experienced cyberbullying in the last year. Such online harassment was observed to be more widespread among teenaged girls.
Researchers with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development conducted the study by analyzing data on American students collected from a previous World Health Organization study of youth from 43 countries.
Students were asked to respond to whether they have experienced depression symptoms of sadness, hopelessness, irritability, lack of sleep, difficulty focusing on academic work, and abnormal changes in eating habits within the past month. Possible responses ranged from never to always.
The survey then inquired about the presence of physical, verbal, social, or cyberbullying as either perpetrator or victim. Those who engaged in bullying behavior were considered frequent bullies if they participated in such acts two or three times a month and occasional if it happened only once or twice.
Dr. Ronald Lannotti, a researcher involved in the study, noted that “although bullies are less likely to report feelings of depression than are bully-victims or victims, they are more likely to report depression than are youth not involved with any bullying behaviors—either traditional bullying or cyberbullying.”
The study has revealed that victims of cyberbullying at school have a higher risk of depression than the students who bully them. This gap in possible depression is not the case for victims and bullies engaged in traditional bullying behavior.
In previous studies, victims and bullies in traditional bullying are both more likely to experience feelings of depression compared to other groups. The recent study shows that cyberbullying is different.
The amount of bullying that a student experiences or participates in is approximately proportional to the level of depression risked. Students engaged in frequent bullying behavior expressed a higher level of depression than those engaged in occasional behavior.
There were no differences in depression rates between physically violent bullies and their victims. Although victims of verbal bullying reported higher depression rate than did bullies, the depression levels among cyberbullying victims were much higher than those of the cyberbullies.
In the booming digital age, popular communication channels have become a breeding ground for online bullying among the teenage population. Cyberbullying, which involves aggressive behavior communicated electronically though computers or cell phones, has joined traditional bullying behaviors such as physical violence, verbal harassment, or relational isolation.
Common cases of cyberbullying include using a fraudulent name to trick others online, spreading lies and rumors about victims, tricking people into revealing personal information, and sending hostile text messages.
“Approximately 53 million American youth, ages 4 to 16, access the Internet from their homes each day,” according to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).
The NCPC reported that 43 percent of youth surveyed have experienced cyberbullying in the last year. Such online harassment was observed to be more widespread among teenaged girls.
Researchers with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development conducted the study by analyzing data on American students collected from a previous World Health Organization study of youth from 43 countries.
Students were asked to respond to whether they have experienced depression symptoms of sadness, hopelessness, irritability, lack of sleep, difficulty focusing on academic work, and abnormal changes in eating habits within the past month. Possible responses ranged from never to always.
The survey then inquired about the presence of physical, verbal, social, or cyberbullying as either perpetrator or victim. Those who engaged in bullying behavior were considered frequent bullies if they participated in such acts two or three times a month and occasional if it happened only once or twice.
Dr. Ronald Lannotti, a researcher involved in the study, noted that “although bullies are less likely to report feelings of depression than are bully-victims or victims, they are more likely to report depression than are youth not involved with any bullying behaviors—either traditional bullying or cyberbullying.”
The study has revealed that victims of cyberbullying at school have a higher risk of depression than the students who bully them. This gap in possible depression is not the case for victims and bullies engaged in traditional bullying behavior.
In previous studies, victims and bullies in traditional bullying are both more likely to experience feelings of depression compared to other groups. The recent study shows that cyberbullying is different.
The amount of bullying that a student experiences or participates in is approximately proportional to the level of depression risked. Students engaged in frequent bullying behavior expressed a higher level of depression than those engaged in occasional behavior.
There were no differences in depression rates between physically violent bullies and their victims. Although victims of verbal bullying reported higher depression rate than did bullies, the depression levels among cyberbullying victims were much higher than those of the cyberbullies.
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