Negative Facebook experiences among Taiwanese gay and bisexual men in emerging adulthood: associations with traditional harassment victimization and quality of life

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the prevalence of negative Facebook (FB) experiences among gay and bisexual men in emerging adulthood in Taiwan and their association with traditional harassment victimization and quality of life (QOL).

Materials and methods: In total, 302 gay or bisexual men aged 20–25 years old with experience of FB use in the preceding year were recruited. We measured the types, severities, and prevalence of negative FB experiences by self-report questionnaires. Traditional harassment victimization experiences were assessed using the adapted form of Chinese-version School Bullying Experience Questionnaire (C-SBEQ). QOL was evaluated by The World Health Organization (WHO) Questionnaire on Quality of Life: Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF). Regression analysis was used to assess respective associations.

Results: Among the study participants, 26.5% reported having negative FB experiences in the preceding year. Negative FB experiences were significantly associated with victimization of verbal ridicule and relational exclusion, but not physical aggression or theft of belongings. Negative FB experiences were also significantly associated with unsatisfactory QOL in all domains except social relationships, even the effects of traditional bullying victimization were controlled.

Conclusion: Negative FB experiences are closely associated with both real life victimization and QOL in gay and bisexual men. Subjective experiences on social networking sites require consideration in conception of measures to reduce bullying victimization as well as improve QOL in this population.

Keywords:

• bullying
• social networking sites
• sexual minorities
• well-being
• negative online experiences

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the grants awarded by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, R.O.C. (MOST 104-2314-B-037-024-MY3), Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH104-4R60, KMUH105-5R59 and KMUH106-6R67), and Chi-Mei Medical Center and the Kaohsiung Medical University Research Foundation (102CM-KMU-02). The funding sources had no involvement in the conduct of this research.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.