Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia

Lee, Michelle Hui Lim; Kaur, Manveen; Shaker, Vinorra; Yee, Anne; Sham, Rohana; Siau, Ching Sin

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043136

Open AccessArticle

Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia

by

Michelle Hui Lim Lee

¹

,

Manveen Kaur

^2,*,

Vinorra Shaker

³,

Anne Yee

²

,

Rohana Sham

⁴

and

Ching Sin Siau

⁵

¹

Hospital Sentosa, Kuching 93250, Malaysia

²

Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

³

School of Psychology, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia

⁴

School of Business, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia

⁵

Centre for Community Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3136; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043136

Submission received: 15 December 2022 / Revised: 5 February 2023 / Accepted: 7 February 2023 / Published: 10 February 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bullying: Causes, Consequences, Interventions, and Prevention)

Download Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with cyberbullying and social media addiction. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 medical students from a public university in Kuching, Malaysia. The instruments used in this study included the cyberbullying questionnaire survey, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21-item (DASS-21). The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization was 24.4%, whilst 13.0% reported cyberbullying perpetration over the past six months. Male gender was positively associated with both cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization, whilst social media addiction was positively associated with cybervictimization. Psychological motives such as positive attitudes toward cyberbullying and gaining power were associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Cybervictimization doubled the tendency to depression (aOR 2.50, 95% CI [1.23, 5.08], p = 0.012), anxiety (aOR 2.38, 95% CI [1.29, 4.40], p = 0.006), and stress (aOR 2.85, 95% CI [1.41, 5.77], p = 0.004), whilst social media addiction was associated with a higher tendency to depression (aOR 1.18, 95% CI [1.10, 1.26], p < 0.001), anxiety (aOR 1.15, 95% CI [1.08, 1.22], p < 0.001), and stress (aOR 1.21, 95% CI [1.12, 1.32], p < 0.001). Medical schools in Malaysia need policies and guidelines against cyberbullying.

Keywords: cyberbullying; social media addiction; medical students; depression; anxiety

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Lee, M.H.L.; Kaur, M.; Shaker, V.; Yee, A.; Sham, R.; Siau, C.S. Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 3136. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043136

AMA Style

Lee MHL, Kaur M, Shaker V, Yee A, Sham R, Siau CS. Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(4):3136. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043136

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lee, Michelle Hui Lim, Manveen Kaur, Vinorra Shaker, Anne Yee, Rohana Sham, and Ching Sin Siau. 2023. "Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 4: 3136. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043136

APA Style

Lee, M. H. L., Kaur, M., Shaker, V., Yee, A., Sham, R., & Siau, C. S. (2023). Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3136. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043136

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI