The Impact of Cyberbullying on Physical and Psychological Health of Arab American Adolescents

Abstract

Utilizing a community-based, cross-sectional design, the present study explored Arab American adolescents' experiences in cyberbullying and its effect on their health. A convenience sample of 150 Arab American adolescents, ages 12–16, were recruited from two community centers located at Southeast Michigan. The survey focused on cyberbullying victimization and perpetration in the past year including frequencies and types of technology used. Thirty-four percent of adolescents reported cyberbullying victimization and 26.7% reported cyberbullying perpetration at least once in the past year. Males were significantly more involved in both victimization and perpetration. Text messaging, Instagram and Facebook were most commonly used. Perpetration predicted physical complaints (p = .001), whereas, victimization predicted psychological distress (p = .014) after controlling for all demographic variables. Arab American adolescents reported significant cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Perpetrators experienced more physical symptoms while victims experienced more psychological distress. Implications for future research are discussed.

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