Citation

Sciacca B, Mazzone A, O'Higgins Norman J. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2023; 69: e101812.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.avb.2022.101812

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Cyberbullying victimisation is a form of abuse through electronic means that can have a negative impact on the mental health of young people. Ethnic minority youth might be particularly affected by the impact of cyberbullying victimisation, as it cumulates with other life stressors. The present systematic review aimed to explore the mental health outcomes of cyberbullying victimisation among ethnic minority young people. A database search was conducted on PsycInfo, Academic Search Complete, ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science. A total of 1258 articles was scanned, and 26 papers met the eligibility criteria for this review. A quality assessment of the eligible studies was carried out. Sample size of the included studies ranged between 118 and 15,425; most studies were quantitative and only 9 adopted a longitudinal design.

FINDINGS of the included studies showed that cybervictimised ethnic minority young people manifest mental health problems in terms of depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Cybervictimisation may constitute a risk factor for developing mental health problems in this vulnerable population, though confounding variables were not controlled for in most studies. Furthermore, findings are inconsistent among studies, which could be due to methodological gaps in the extant literature. Implications for research, policy and legislation are outlined.

Language: en

Keywords

Anxiety; Cyberbullying; Cybervictimisation; Depression; Ethnic minorities; Mental health