Psychological discomfort and psychosocial support in victims of cyberbullying.

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a growing problem that raises an important social concern. Studies suggest that cyberbullying has serious consequences for the psychological well-being of cyber-victims, and also that they feel alone in this situation of intimidation. The principal aim of this study was to analyze the consequences of cyberbullying in terms of cyber victimitation, psychological distress, perceived emotional support and loneliness in cyber victims. These analyzes took into account the duration of this type of intimidation (it has not happened to me, during 1 month (or less), between 3 and 6 months, or during 1 year (or more)). The sample consisted of 1023 adolescents (51.2% boys and 48.8% girls), between 12 and 18 years old. The results show that cyber victims harassed between 3 and 6 months have more psychological discomfort. On the other hand, cyber victims harassed during 1 year (or more) perceive less emotional support, and feel more alone compared to cyber victims of less time.The results demonstrate the need to help victims, and the importance of emotional and social support to stop this type of harassment. These results and their implications for future research are discussed.

Keywords

• víctimas
• adolescentes
• ciberbullying
• malestar
• soledad
• apoyo