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The Association Between Problematic Internet Use and Bullying Behaviors Among a Sample of Diverse Rural and Urban Adolescents: The Promise of Developmental Assets.
Rojas, Mikaela, M; Guevara, Maria ;Hamidzadeh, Olivia, N; Lising, Lydia, N; Rogers, Kim; Forster, Myriam.
Background: Spending a disproportionate amount of time online has been linked to increased risk for bullying involvement. Bullying, defined as unwanted, aggressive behaviors, has been associated with negative psychological, physical, and academic performance. However, there are gaps in research on protective factors for bullying, especially in the context of digital behaviors. Youth development frameworks have identified key socio-emotional competencies that encourage well-being and resilience. This study explores whether developmental competencies, specifically social domains, can offset the negative effects of excessive time online for bullying involvement
Methods: Data (N=877) are baseline survey responses from the youth enrolled in a longitudinal study investigating developmental pathways and health outcomes among urban and rural students from three states. The sample was 25% African American, 23% Hispanic, 25% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 27% non-Hispanic white; over one-third (37%) of the sample reported being bully-victims, and 19% reported being bullies or bully-victims. Problematic internet use was assessed using an internet addiction screener.
Results: Adjusting for sex, age, state and ethnicity, students who screen positive for excessive internet use had higher risk of being a bully and being bullied (RRR=1.04,95% CI [1.02, 1.06]) than their peers. Conversely, higher social competency scores were associated with lower risk of being bullied (RRR=.90, 95% CI [.84, .97]). Moreover, students who screened positive for problematic internet use but had high social competencies had lower risk of being a bully or bully-victim than youth with similar levels of internet use but low social competencies
(p < .01).
Conclusion: Our findings highlight that youth who screen positive for problematic internet use are more vulnerable for risky behaviors such as bullying than students who spend less time online. Future prevention efforts should focus on fostering potential protective factors such as social competencies and continue to investigate factors that can limit excessive time online.
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