Citation

Olenik-Shemesh D, Heiman T. J. Genet. Psychol. 2016; 178(1): 28-43.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology and Education , Open University of Israel , Ra'anana , Israel.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00221325.2016.1195331

PMID

27355106

Abstract

The authors examined cyberbullying victimization in the context of issues of key importance to youth: body esteem, social support, and social self-efficacy. Research has found that traditional peer-bullying victimization is significantly correlated with low body esteem in Western societies, especially pertaining to weight (R. Puhl & J. Luedicke, 2012 ). Studies have also found a relationship among bullying victimization, appearance-related bullying, low body esteem, and psychosocial difficulties among youth (L. E. Park, R. M. Calogero, A.F. Young, & A. Diraddo, 2010 ). However, the emergence of cyberbullying, characterized by its own special features (P. K. Smith et al., 2008 ), has raised a salient need to explore the relationship between cyber victimization and body esteem, no less important with social framework, because both are key components in adolescents' lives that may be associated with cyberbullying victimization. The authors examined these relationships among 204 Israeli adolescents 14-16 years old. The results indicate a noteworthy prevalence (45%) of cyber victims. Cyber victimization is significantly correlated with low body esteem and low social support and social self-efficacy. Low body esteem and low social support predicted the probability of being a cyber victim. The results extend the knowledge about potential personal and social risk factors for cyber victimization during adolescence. Implications for specific intervention programs are discussed.

Language: en