Cyberbullying: A mental health problem among mexican adolescent

Abstract

Cyberbullying (CB) is a peer to peer harassment behavior through spreading offensive information via Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Objectives: a) Identifying the prevalence of cyberbullying in Mexico, b) Establishing the relationship of the typology CB with anxiety and depression; and c) Identifying differences between anxiety and depression by type CB and age. Research instrument and Methodology: The Cyberbullying-Victimization Questionnaire (CBQ-V), the Cyberbullying Questionnaire (CBQ) as well as the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were used in this reserch. Participated in the survey 1,491 adolescents from Mexico City (Mage = 14.5 years). Results: 43.5% of adolescents have suffered some type of CB. The age with the highest preponderance was between 12-14 years old. An analysis of variance was done to compare CB roles and the results showed significant differences in anxiety and depression, and it was found that the victim-aggressors are the largest affected group.