High school students who are bullied online are more likely to report symptoms of depression and suicide attempts than students who were bullied only at school, according to a survey of students in the communities west of Boston published [Nov. 17, 2011].
The study, which appears on the website of the American Journal of Public Health, also found that girls are more likely than boys to report being victims of cyberbullying, and students who do not identify themselves as heterosexual are more likely to report being bullied online and at school.In the study by the Education Development Center, a non-profit education research organization based in Newton, 16.5 percent of students reported being bullied at school only, 6.4 percent of students reported being bullied online only; and 9.4 percent both at school and online.
Of students who reported being victims of both cyberbullying and school bullying, 47 percent reported symptoms of depression. Of students who reported being bullied online only, 33.9 percent reported such symptoms. This is compared to 26.6 percent of those who said they were bullied only at school, and 13.6 of students who said they had not been bullied.
“Electronic communication allows the perpetrator to maintain anonymity and to post messages to a very wide audience,” said Shari Kessel Schneider, a senior research associate at the Education Development Center and lead writer of the study. “Cyberbullying can occur at any time and any location and doesn’t stop when students leave the schoolyard and enter their own homes.” More
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