Cyberbullying and condom use among tertiary education students

Abstract

South Africa has a high incidence of HIV. Violence in the country is also high and often perpetrated by dating partners. Dating violence can make it difficult for partners to negotiate safe sex practices. Moreover, the field of interpersonal violence is changing as social networking sites redefine interpersonal boundaries. To our knowledge, there are no studies that have examined the influence of cyberbullying on safe sexual practices. This study investigates the relationship between cyberbullying, physical violence and sexual behavior (i.e., condom use and number of sexual partners). A cross-sectional study was conducted among students at a South African university. Only 28.5% reported using a condom at every sexual intercourse during the last 3 months. Cyberbullying was reported by 76.2% of respondents. Physical assault from an intimate partner was endorsed by 50.6% of respondents and 42.2% perpetrated physical assault on a dating partner. Both victims of cyberbullying and dating violence as well as perpetrators of dating violence reported lower condom usage. There was an inverse relationship between cyberbullying and the number of sexual partners. It is concluded that high levels of cyberbullying and intimate partner violence are present among students and that these are linked to low rates of condom use.

Keywords

• condom
• cyberbullying
• dating violence
• hiv
• physical assault