Sadia Musharraf, Anis-ul Haque.
Cyberbullying in different participant roles: exploring differences in psychopathology and well-being in university students.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;57(1):33-9.

Background: It has been recognized that cyberbullying is a serious psychosocial issue. For prevention and intervention efforts, it is essential to know the epidemiology, regional nature, and the psychological impacts of cyberbullying on young students. Objectives: The present study was conducted to examine the prevalence of cyberbullying in university students by classifying among the three participant roles of involvement in cyberbullying: ?cyber victims?, ?cyber bullies?, and ?cyber bully/victims" in comparison to fourth group of students who were not involved in any of the three participant roles of cyberbullying. In addition, the impact of cyberbullying involvement on mental health and well-being was investigated. Study design, settings and duration: The cross-sectional survey was conducted at various universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in 2016. Subjects and Methods: A sample of 508 (348 females and 160 males) participants were chosen from different universities. An anonymous survey was conducted using cyberbullying and cyber victimization scales, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. Results: Findings revealed 67% of university students were involved in cyberbullying of whom self-reported cyber victims were 25%, 4% were cyber bullies and 39% reported themselves in a dual role of cyber bully-victims. Females were more likely reported themselves as cyber victims in comparison to males while more males reported themselves to be involved as cyber bullies and cyber bully/victims than females. Prevalence of psychopathology was found to be higher in cyber bullies followed by cyber bully/victims and cyber victims than not involved in cyberbullying while, lowest mental well-being was found in cyber victims followed by cyber bully/victims and cyber bullies in comparison to not involved students. Conclusion: Prevalence rate of cyberbullying is high among university students and those involved in cyberbullying have a higher level of psychopathology and poor well-being in comparison to those not involved.

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