The role of cyberbullying victimization in sexual minority adolescents' reported levels of depression and anxiety
Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This dissertation examined the relationship between sexual and gender minority adolescents’ and heterosexual adolescents’ frequency of cyberbullying victimization and their reported levels of depression and anxiety. A total of 93 sexual and gender minority adolescents and 113 heterosexual adolescents participated. Results indicated sexual and gender minority participants experienced significantly more victimization than heterosexual participants. Sexual and gender minority participants reported significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety. Participants with the highest levels of victimization reported experiencing significantly higher levels of depression than participants with medium amounts of victimization. When controlling for frequency of victimization, sexual and gender minority and heterosexual participants did not have significantly different levels of depression and anxiety. There was no significant difference on depression and anxiety between sexual and gender minority participants who disclosed their sexual orientation to family and friends and those who had not. Implications for school practice and future research are provided. These implications include discussions of school-based mental health interventions at the universal level and cyberbullying prevention programs for all youth, regardless of sexual orientation.
Author: Jessica Lauryn Byrd
Institution: University of Northern Colorado
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2516855205