Cyberbullying would amplify the symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress in adolescents, according to a new American study.
With the advent of social networks came, among other things, an increase in cyber-harassment, a phenomenon whose victims are generally young people, more connected but also more vulnerable. In France, according to an Ifop poll published about a year ago, one in five young adults has already suffered from cuber-harassment. Thus, a quarter of 18-24 year olds have suffered insults or rude comments on the web. And of course, cyberbullying has consequences on the mental health of victims. According to a new American study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatryit would notably amplify the symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress in adolescents.
For their study, the researchers followed 50 adolescents aged 13 to 17 hospitalized in a facility in Westchester County, United States. Of the teens surveyed, almost a quarter (20%) said they had been cyberbullied in the last two months before hospitalization. In detail, half of the harassed participants received an SMS while the other was intimidated on Facebook or Instagram (exchange of photos, videos or messages via the instant chat application).
By also questioning young people about the nature and degree of their psychiatric symptoms as well as traumatic experiences suffered during childhood, the researchers noticed that victims of cyberbullying presented a greater degree of severity of post-stress syndrome. -traumatic, depression and anger than others. They were also more likely than the others to report psychological violence during their childhood (insults, lack of affection, threats, etc.).
Time spent online has no influence on the risk of cyberbullying
“These data suggest that people with a history of childhood trauma also appear vulnerable to continued negative experiences during adolescence,” the researchers note.
However, the latter did not establish a link between an increased risk of cyberbullying during adolescence and other types of trauma such as physical violence, physical neglect or even sexual abuse. Moreover, the fact of being regularly connected to social networks did not seem to have any particular impact in this area.
“Further studies are needed to establish whether childhood emotional abuse alone can make adolescents more susceptible to cyberbullying,” the researchers write.
Health professionals should ask young people about the subject
“Cyberbullying is perhaps more pernicious than other forms of bullying because of its reach,” comments Dr. Philip Harvey, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, co – author of the study, quoted by MedicalXpress. “Bullying can be viral and persistent. To truly be a form of bullying, it has to be personal – direct negative commentary that tries to make the person feel bad,” he said.
The expert therefore recommends that psychologists, psychiatrists and other health professionals ask young people if they were abused or traumatized when they were younger and if they are victims of cyberbullying today. Integrating these kinds of questions into the clinical assessment of adolescents could shed light on new symptoms, thus leading to better management.
And Dr. Harvey to encourage parents and teenagers to react to the virtual aggressor. “It’s not hard to block someone on the internet, whether it’s texting, Facebook, Twitter or sending photos. Ask yourself why do people choose you to bully you? It’s something you post, evaluate it and make a change,” he said.
In France, an offense that is not often condemned
In France, cyberbullying is an offense punishable by two years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros. If the victim is under 15, the maximum penalty is increased to 3 years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, is it specified on the government site Service-Public.fr. Unfortunately, as is often the case with harassment, many victims never file a complaint, often for fear of not being taken seriously. On the Internet, one can also read many testimonials from people saying that they had not heard back following their complaint or that the latter had been closed without further action.
Thus, between August 2014 and 2017, only 18 convictions were pronounced by the courts for the offense of “harassment committed by means of an online public communication service or a digital or electronic medium”.
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