Academic achievement, and cyber-bullying and cyber-victimization among middle- and high-school students in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Rates of Internet usage among Vietnamese students have been estimated to be high and consequently, risk for cyber-bullying and cyber-victimization also may be high. However, current research in this area is limited, with the two primary studies of cyber-bullying among Vietnamese students based on short questionnaires (three and four items) and limited samples (i.e., from one school, and from two schools in the same city). A more comprehensive assessment thus is important in order to more precisely define the magnitude of the problem and to more accurately identify culturally relevant risk factors. In the present study, 1,040 Vietnamese 6th through 12th-grade students from 4 schools in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were assessed using the Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory. Results indicated that 7.1% of participants were victims of cyber-bullying only, 4.7% were initiators of cyber-bullying only, and 11.3% were both initiators of cyber-bullying and victims of cyber-bullying; thus, about one-fourth of the sample was involved in maladaptive online behaviors. Academic achievement was significantly related to levels of cyber-bullying but not cyber-victimization, with top-performing students showing significantly higher levels of cyber-bullying than all other students. Implications of these results are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic achievement
• cyber-bullying
• cyber-victimization
• Vietnam
• students
• prevalence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED), under Grant numbers 501.99-2015.02.

Notes on contributors

Cong V. Tran

Cong V. Tran, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the VNU University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. His research focuses on cyber-bullying, bullying, peer violence, and related problems within mental health.

Bahr Weiss

Bahr Weiss, PhD is a Research Professor in the Vanderbilt University Department of Psychology and Human Development. His research focuses on global child mental health in Southeast Asia.

Ngoc P. H. Nguyen

Ngoc P. H. Nguyen, MA, is a PhD clinical psychology graduate student at the VNU University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Her research interests focus on mental health in the schools.