Cyberbullying Among Greek High School Adolescents

Indian J Pediatr. 2017 May;84(5):364-368. doi: 10.1007/s12098-016-2256-2. Epub 2016 Dec 13.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the presence of cyberbullying among Greek students and the efficacy of proposed preventive interventions.

Methods: Three types of high schools (private, experimental and public) with different politics on on-line aggression were enrolled. All students of the aforementioned schools were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire.

Results: Around 62 % of the high school students experienced cyberbullying by electronic means, especially by cell phone, mostly the public school students (p 0.008). The bully was a stranger in more than 40 % of the cases. Over 60 % of the victims had not seeked help but dealt with the attack on their own. Only 20 % of the victims manifested sleep or eating disorders, physical/ psychological symptoms or changes in their social life as a consequence of the cyber-attack.

Conclusions: Cyberbullying is a usual phenomenon among high school students. The bully is frequently unacquainted to the victim. Most of the victims are not physically or psychologically affected by the cyber-attack and do not share the event with anyone. There was a slight difference in the response of the students to cyberbullying among the different school politics of on-line aggression.

Keywords: Adolescents; Cyberbullying; Internet.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Bullying / prevention & control
  • Bullying / statistics & numerical data*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Greece / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Schools / statistics & numerical data
  • Surveys and Questionnaires