Traditional and cyberbullying victimization and adverse mental and behavioural outcomes among school adolescents from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

ABSTRACT

Exposure to traditional (offline) and cyber (online) bullying among adolescents is a major public health problem globally. However, little is known about traditional and cyberbullying victimization in relation to adverse mental and behavioral outcomes among in-school adolescents in the Caribbean, which prompted the study. Data from 1,877 adolescents (mean age: 15.4 years, SD = 1.4) that participated in a cross-sectional national school survey in 2018 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were analyzed. Students responded in a classroom setting to self-administered questions on traditional and cyberbullying victimization, as well as adverse mental and behavioral outcomes. Indicate that 20.5% of students reported traditional bullying victimization only, 5.8% cyberbullying only and 9.8% combined traditional and cyberbullying victimization in the past 12 months. Combined traditional and cyberbullying victimization had the highest odds, and traditional bullying victimization only and cyberbullying victimization only had both the second highest odds of 10 adverse mental health outcomes (loneliness, anxiety, suicidal ideation, suicide plan, suicide attempt, current cigarette smoking, current other tobacco use, ever drunk, trouble from drinking, and/or current cannabis use) and combined traditional and cyberbullying victimization had the highest odds, cyberbullying victimization only had the second highest odds and traditional bullying victimization only the third highest odds of eight adverse behavioral outcomes (school truancy, physically attacked, in a physical fight, injury, ever sex, multiple sexual partners, non-condom use and/or leisure-time sedentary behavior). Combined traditional and cyberbullying victimization, followed by cyberbullying victimization only and traditional bullying victimization only increased the odds of adverse mental health and behavioral outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Traditionally bullied
• cyberbullied
• mental health
• behavioral outcomes
• adolescents
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Acknowledgments

The data source, the World Health Organization NCD Microdata Repository (URL: https://extranet.who.int/ncdsmicrodata/index.php/catalog) is hereby acknowledged.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available at the World Health Organization NCD Microdata Repository, https://extranet.who.int/ncdsmicrodata/index.php/catalog/.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical standards

The study was granted ethics approval by a national ethics committee and written informed consent was obtained from the participants or their guardians before the survey.

Additional information

Funding

The authors have no funding to report.