Are Adolescents Engaged in the Problematic Use of Social Networking Sites More Involved in Peer Aggression and Victimization?

Abstract

The problematic use of social networking sites is becoming a major public health concern. Previous research has found that adolescents who engage in a problematic use of social networking sites are likely to show maladjustment problems. However, little is known about its links with peer aggression and victimization. The main goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression –overt vs. relational and reactive vs. instrumental–, and peer victimization –overt physical and verbal, and relational–, taking into account gender and age (in early and mid-adolescence). Participants were selected using randomized cluster sampling considering school and class as clusters. A battery of instruments was applied to 1,952 adolescents' secondary students from Spain (Andalusia) (50.4% boys), aged 11 to 16 (M = 14.07, SD = 1.39). Results showed that girls and 14–16 adolescents were more involved in a problematic use of online social networking sites. Furthermore, adolescents with high problematic use of online social networking sites were more involved in overt—reactive and instrumental—and relational—reactive and instrumental—aggressive behaviors, and self-reported higher levels of overt—physical and verbal—and relational victimization. Even though boys indicated higher levels of all types of victimization, girls with high problematic use of online social networking sites scored the highest on relational victimization. Relating to age, early adolescents (aged 11–14) with higher problematic use of online social networking sites reported the highest levels of overt verbal and relational victimization. Overall, results suggested the co-occurrence of problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression and victimization. In addition, results showed the influence that gender and age had on peer victimization. This study highlights the continuity between offline and online domains with regard to maladjustment problems in adolescence.

Psychometric Properties of the CYBVICS Cyber-Victimization Scale and Its Relationship with Psychosocial Variables

“…These results are consistent with the two-factor structure of the CBVEQ-G scale by Antoniadou et al (2016), who also classify their items as indirect aggressions and direct aggressions. These results are also congruent with previous literature on traditional bullying that points to the existence of these two dimensions of peer violence, referred to as direct or manifested aggressions and indirect or relational aggressions (Martínez-Ferrer et al 2018;Mynard and Joseph 2000;Little et al 2003).…”

Parental Socialization, Social Anxiety, and School Victimization: A Mediation Model

“…School victimization: The Spanish version of the School Victimization Scale [51], adapted by Martínez-Ferrer, Moreno, and Musitu [4], was used. This scale consists of 20 items that measure, on a response range of 1 (never) to 4 (always), the frequency with which students have been subjected to violent behavior in the last year.…”

“…School victimization is defined as a type of peer abuse in which students are subjected to violent verbal, physical, and psychological behavior by one or more peers [1,2]. This problem has serious consequences for the development and psychosocial adjustment of students [3][4][5]. As regards gender, data suggest that, in the case of school victimization, boys are victimized by their partners overtly and girls relationally [6,7], although some studies have not reported such differences [8,9].…”

Family Functioning, Self-Concept and Cybervictimization: An Analysis Based on Gender

“…For adolescents, smartphones-mobile phones with Internet access-virtual social media, and instant messaging, are part of their daily lives and they provide them with a connected environment for development and socialization (Livingstone et al 2011;Wachs et al 2016). However, this incursion of ICT in the day-to-day lives of adolescents also has many negative effects, such as, for example, Internet addiction and behaviors that are associated with cyberbullying (Aricak and Ozbay 2016;Martínez-Ferrer et al 2018). Recent studies have revealed the alarming increase in cyberbullying in all developed countries, which has raised great concern in social and educational spheres (De Santisteban and Gámez-Guadix 2017; Garaigordobil 2017; Kowalski et al 2014;Ortega-Barón et al 2016).…”