Cyberbullying victimisation in adolescence: relationships with loneliness and depressive mood

Cyberbullying is deliberate, aggressive activity carried out through digital means. Cybervictimisation in adolescence may be related to negative psychosocial variables such as loneliness and depressive mood. The purpose of the present study, the first of its kind in Israel, was to examine the association between adolescent cybervictimisation and two socio-emotional variables: loneliness and depressive mood. The sample consisted of 242 Israeli adolescents, aged 13-16 years, who completed questionnaires regarding Internet use, cyberbullying, traditional bullying, loneliness and depressive mood. In total, 16.5% of the participants reported being cybervictims and 32.5% reported knowing someone who was cybervictimised. The results revealed a relationship between cybervictimisation and loneliness (social, emotional and general) as well as depressive mood. A logistic hierarchical regression found that loneliness, gender and depressive mood each explained some variance in cybervictimisation in adolescents. As an anchor for comparison, and in order to shed light on the findings, results are presented in comparison to traditional bullying. The results make a contribution to national and international cyberbullying research and broaden the knowledge about potential risk factors for cybervictimisation.