Perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying among youth with conduct disorder

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Sarah Baumann - , University Hospital Aachen (Author)
  • Anka Bernhard - , University Hospital Frankfurt (Author)
  • Anne Martinelli - , Fresenius University of Applied Sciences (Author)
  • Katharina Ackermann - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann - , University Hospital Aachen (Author)
  • Christine Freitag - , University Hospital Frankfurt (Author)
  • Kerstin Konrad - , University Hospital Aachen (Author)
  • Gregor Kohls - , Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Aachen (Author)

Abstract

Due to modern technological innovations, aggressive behaviors have expanded into the cyberspace, creating a new matter of public concern: cyberbullying. Antisocial and aggressive behaviors, including bullying are characteristic for children and adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorder (CD), raising the question whether these youths are highly involved in cyberbullying experiences, too. 206 participants with CD versus typically developing controls (TDCs) aged 9-19 years (57% girls) were included in the study. Individuals completed several self-report measures investigating cyber- and traditional bullying experiences, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to explain the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration with demographic and clinical variables. Experiences of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration were significantly higher among youth with CD compared to TDCs, and this was accompanied by significantly higher scores on a measure of traditional bullying in CD versus TDCs. CD diagnosis, female sex and higher levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits were each uniquely associated with increased experiences of cyberbullying victimization, whereas CD diagnosis, higher levels of CU traits and older age were each uniquely associated with increased experiences of cyberbullying perpetration. Individuals with CD, compared to TDCs are at higher risk of becoming cyberbully victims and perpetrators, hence representing an important novel aspect in the assessment and treatment of these youths.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1643-1653
Number of pages11
JournalEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry
Volume32
Issue number9
Early online date29 Mar 2022
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85127316686
unpaywall 10.1007/s00787-022-01973-0
Mendeley e62e14e4-dc13-3df7-a081-15eeee6c2e3f
ORCID /0000-0003-2408-2939/work/172085994

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Aggression, Conduct disorder, Cyberbullying, Perpetration, Victimization

Library keywords