Cyber-victimization and its association with depression among Vietnamese adolescents

Abstract

Background Cyberbullying has become an alarming social issue, but little is known about its prevalence and consequences in many countries. This study investigated the prevalence of cyber-victimization and its association with depression among students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1,492 students from eight secondary schools and high schools in four urban and suburban areas. Multi-stage cluster sampling approach was used to recruit participants. Students participated in this study on a voluntary basis and completed a self-report questionnaire that included validated scales to measure their experience of cyber-bullying (Cyber Bullying Scale) and symptoms of depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale). Weighted logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for the cluster effect and sampling probability. Results Almost all (92.4%) students reported using the internet everyday and nearly 40% used internet for more than four hours per day. Cyber-victimization was identified in 36.5% of students and almost 25% experienced multiple types of cyber-victimization. Nearly half of students reported symptoms of depression. After adjusting for other covariates, students who experienced cyber-victimization were found to have 1.81 times (95% CI [1.42–2.30]) higher in odds of having symptoms of depression. Conclusions Cyber victimization and depression are both common in Vietnamese adolescents. Those who experienced cyber bullying have a higher likelihood of having symptoms of depression. These findings indicate an urgent need for interventions and policies targeting this emerging type of bullying in Vietnam and similar settings due to its potential harmful effects on adolescents’ health.

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“… 54 In addition, students are in the stage of finding their identity so, in the intervention process, it is necessary to provide space so that students can still freely express what they feel. 55 This is supported by previous research which states that interventions to reduce cyberbullying against students need to pay attention to youth’s freedom of expression. 56 …”

Recognizing the Frequency of Exposure to Cyberbullying in Children: The Results of the National HBSC Study in Serbia

“…Previous studies have already indicated that cyberbullying victims experience higher rates of depression [22,32,33] and anxiety [21,22,32,33]. Moreover, emotional problems vary in intensity and quality in adolescents who experience cyberbullying [34].…”

Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Cyberbullying and Cybervictimization Prevalence among Children and Adolescents? A Systematic Review

“…As shown in Table 1, among the articles included in the present systematic review, ten were conducted in Asia, that is, three in China [52,89,90], two in South Korea [91,92] and the remaining in Indonesia [93], Malaysia [94], Thailand [95], Turkey (eastern Anatolia) [96] and Vietnam [97]; three studies were conducted in European countries, i.e., Croatia [98], Finland [60] and Germany [99]; and the remaining three studies were carried out, respectively, in Australia [100], Canada [101] and Chile [102].…”

“…Regarding the selected studies' research design, four studies were longitudinal investigations [60,91,92,100], one was a randomized retrospective study [101], and the others were cross-sectional [52,89,90,[93][94][95][96][97][98][99]102].…”