A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology by the Miami Miller School of Medicine has revealed that children with existing mental health problems are more likely to suffer higher levels of stress and trauma from cyberbullying.
For the study at a psychiatric hospital in Westchester County, New York, inpatients aged 13-17 answered separate questionnaires on childhood trauma and cyberbullying. In comparing the results, researchers found that the 20% of participants who had been cyberbullied before admission to the hospital had significantly higher severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anger, and fantasy dissociation than those who had not been bullied online.
Cyberbullying is possibly more pernicious than other forms of bullying because of its reach, the bullying can be viral and persistent.
Dr. Philip D. Harvey, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Florida
Dr. Harvey, who co-authored the study, went on to explain how cyberbullying had the impact of amplifying symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in young people who were inpatients at the adolescent psychiatric hospital.
Participants who reported being cyberbullied also reported significantly higher levels of lifetime emotional abuse on the study's Childhood Trauma Questionnaire than those who were not bullied. Although this study was undertaken within a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Harvey pointed out that the findings were consistent with previous studies undertaken outside of the hospital environment.
This study reinforces the theory that young people with existing mental health problems or a history of trauma are significantly more vulnerable to being seriously affected by cyberbullying. Similar conclusions have been reached by researchers that have studied other online risks, such as excessive screen time.
Dan Raisbeck, Co-founder, The Cybersmile Foundation
Dr. Harvey concluded in his report that psychologists, psychiatrists, and other counselors should routinely ask young people if they were abused or traumatized when they were younger and also whether they are being bullied now. He suggested that adding these questions to the clinical evaluation of adolescents might identify symptoms that may have potentially been missed or ignored.