Is cyberbullying perpetration associated with anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation among lebanese adolescents? Results from a cross-sectional study

BackgroundAs cyberbullying is a new area of investigation, results worldwide point to the prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration. This study aimed to assess the association between cyberbullying perpetration, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation among Lebanese adolescents.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2021 and included a sample of adolescents aged between 13 and 16 years old, recruited from private schools chosen in a convenient way from all Lebanese districts. A total of 520 students accepted to participate in our study. To collect data, a questionnaire was shared by google form including: Cyber Bully/Cyber victim questionnaire; Lebanese Anxiety Scale; and Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents.ResultsThe results of the linear regressions, taking anxiety and depression as dependent variables, showed that female gender, having kind of hard and very/extremely hard influence of problems on daily work, sexual cyberbullying in cyberspace, embarrassing and inserting malicious content in cyberspace and older age were significantly associated with more anxiety and depression. Having kind of hard influence of problems on daily work compared to not at all, higher anxiety, higher depression and higher household crowding index (lower socioeconomic status) were significantly associated with higher odds of having suicidal ideation in the last month.ConclusionCyberbullying perpetration and its associated factors reported in this study are significant enough to call for early detection and prevention strategies for Lebanese adolescents. At the school level, effective programs implemented in the school years are needed, aiming to develop social/emotional control, and conflict resolution skills as they might decrease engagement in cyberbullying perpetration among adolescents. Preventive interventions are needed to reduce the engagement of Lebanese adolescents in cyberbullying perpetration.

Automated summary

This study aimed to assess the association between cyberbullying perpetration, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation among Lebanese adolescents. The findings showed that female gender, difficulties in daily work, sexual cyberbullying, embarrassing and malicious content in cyberspace, and older age were significantly associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. In addition, experiencing difficulties in daily work, higher levels of anxiety and depression, and lower socioeconomic status were significantly associated with higher odds of having suicidal ideation. Early detection and prevention strategies are needed to address cyberbullying perpetration among Lebanese adolescents.