Victims of Cyberbullying: Feeling Loneliness and Depression among Youth and Adult Chileans during the Pandemic

Jorge J. Varela, Cristóbal Hernández, Rafael Miranda, Christopher P. Barlett and Matías E. Rodríguez-Rivas
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Jorge J. Varela: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago 7610658, Chile
Cristóbal Hernández: Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago 7941169, Chile
Rafael Miranda: Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Continental del Perú, Lima 12001, Peru
Christopher P. Barlett: Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, NY 66506-5302, USA
Matías E. Rodríguez-Rivas: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago 7610658, Chile

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: In Chile, during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of cyberbullying victimization increased for adolescents and younger adults. Research has shown that cyber-victims—adolescents and young adults alike—are at greater risk for mental health problems such as depression as a result of this negative type of aggression. Yet, a paucity of research has examined the individual mechanisms germane to cyber-victim depression. We focused on loneliness for the current study. We hypothesized that cyber-victimization would be positively related to depressive symptoms through increased fears of loneliness and that this effect would differ between adolescents and younger adults. Thus, we examined a sample of 2370 participants from all main regions of Chile aged from 15 to 29 years. Moderated mediation results showed a negative effect of cyberbullying on depression, which was mediated by increased fears of being alone. The effect of frequency of cyberbullying on fear of loneliness was stronger for younger adults compared to adolescents. Our results suggest different mechanisms for both age groups, which can inform prevention programs and their specific activities.

Keywords: cyberbullying; depression; loneliness; pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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