A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cyber-Victimization and Educational Outcomes for Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescents’ Internet use is increasingly mobile, private, and unsupervised, which raises concerns given that the Internet increasingly serves as a medium for experiencing victimization. Although it is widely recognized that in-person victimization has a deleterious effect on adolescents’ educational outcomes, the extent to which cyber-victimization has similar effects is less well known. This systematic review and meta-analysis offers a synthesis of the relationship between cyber-victimization and educational outcomes of adolescents aged 12 to 17, including 25 effect sizes from 12 studies drawn from a variety of disciplines. A series of random-effects meta-analyses using robust variance estimation revealed associations between cyber-victimization and higher school attendance problems (r = .20) and academic achievement problems (r = .14). Results did not differ by provided definition, publication status, reporting time frame, gender, race/ethnicity, or average age. Implications for future research are discussed within context of theoretical, critical, and applied discussions.

Methodological Guidance Paper: High-Quality Meta-Analysis in a Systematic Review

“…Other meta-analyses may focus on estimating the magnitude and direction of an association, such as the correlation between exposure to cyber-bullying and academic achievement (Gardella, Fisher, & Teurbe-Tolon, 2017). The Gardella et al (2017) study examined how the correlation between exposure to cyber-bullying and difficulties in achievement and attendance varied by gender, race/ethnicity, and age. Meta-analysis techniques also exist for the prevalence of a phenomenon across studies such as in estimating the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in preterm infants (Agrawal, Rao, Bulsara, & Patole, 2018) and for diagnostic and prognostic test accuracy.…”

Students’ Reasons for Why They Were Targeted for In-School Victimization and Bullying

“…In the USA, estimates suggest that nearly one in three students experience some form of victimization while at school (Robers et al 2013), and thus are at greater risk for an array of deleterious outcomes (Fisher et al 2016;Gardella et al 2017;Nakamoto and Schwartz 2010;Reijntjes et al 2010Reijntjes et al , 2011. Students perceive a variety of reasons for why they are targeted for these victimization experiences, and prevention efforts that better reflect these reasons are more likely to fit the experiences of students and thus produce positive outcomes (Nation et al 2003).…”

The age of cyberpsychology: An overview.

“…The psychological and behavioral impact of cyberbullying is significant. Meta-analyses have revealed associations between cyber-victimization and higher school attendance problems, academic achievement difficulties, loneliness, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and substance use with correlations ranging from .15 to .27 (Gardella et al, 2017;Kowalski et al, 2014).…”