Online sexual harassment and cyberbullying in a nationally representative sample of teens: Prevalence, predictors, and consequences

Abstract

Introduction: There are burgeoning bodies of research on cyberbullying and online sexual harassment. Yet existing work often fails to distinguish between these two unique forms of online victimization, is largely cross sectional, and based on convenience or specialized samples. We examined the prevalence, predictors, and mental health and behavioral consequences of cyberbullying and online sexual harassment using a large, representative sample of adolescents. We also considered the potential compounding effects of multiple forms of victimization, as well as gender differences in the effects of online victimization.

Methods: We used nationally representative, longitudinal data from the National Survey on Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence (STRiV) (n = 1,152), a US-based sample of adolescents 10-18 years old.

Results: Approximately 37% of participants reported being victims of cyberbullying, and nearly 15% reported online sexual harassment experiences. Despite cyberbullying being relatively more common, the risk factors for these two forms of online victimization were similar. In addition, cyberbullying and online sexual harassment victimization were independently associated with the full range of mental health and behavioral problems examined in this investigation. Nevertheless, our findings also provided some evidence of conditional effects, such that female adolescents, and adolescents who experienced both forms of online victimization, suffered greater deleterious outcomes.

Conclusions: Online sexual harassment and cyberbullying victimization have similar risk profiles, and both contribute to heightened risk of mental health and behavioral problems. Yet the prevalence and gendered nature of these experiences underscore the importance of making distinctions. We provide recommendations for future research and programmatic efforts.

Keywords: Cyberbullying; Mental health; Online victimization; Physical aggression; Sexual harassment; Substance use.