Special Issue "Bullying and Cyberbullying: Definition, Prevalence Rates, Risk/Protective Factors, and Interventions"
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2023 | Viewed by 23074
Special Issue Editors

Interests: preterm birth; language development; academic achievement; bullying and cyberbullying
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: bullying; cyberbullying; mental health in childhood and in adolescence; psychological wellbeing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: bullying; cyberbullying; well-being
Interests: bullying; cyberbullying; well-being
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are organizing a Special Issue titled Bullying and Cyberbullying: Definition, Prevalence Rates, Risk/Protective Factors, and Interventions in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The journal is a peer-reviewed scientific publication that publishes articles and communications in the interdisciplinary area of environmental health sciences and public health. For detailed information about the journal, we refer you to https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph.
Bullying and cyberbullying are widespread global problems with prevalence rates estimated at 35% for bullying and 15% for cyberbullying. Both phenomena are considered serious public health issues due to their negative impact on students’ well-being. Indeed, the students involved show symptoms of depression and anxiety, negative social relationships, and internalizing problems, with an increased risk of suicidal ideation as a function of the frequency of aggressions. Given the significance of bullying and cyberbullying in society, several studies have analysed what factors can act as risk or protective factors in the involvement of the phenomena, addressing the importance of adopting an ecological framework. The analysis of risk and protective factors is particularly relevant in tailoring interventions, which have been described by several studies—especially in school contexts.
This Special Issue aims to document research on bullying and cyberbullying, analysing their definition from a perspective that seeks to include students, teachers, educators, and parents’ voices. Cross-national comparisons are appreciated, in order to compare different incidence rates and sequelae among countries by analysing common and specific characteristics of both phenomena. In addition, research on the analysis of risk and protective factors is welcome, allowing a more complex view of bullying and cyberbullying and taking into account individual and socio-family factors. We also welcome contributions describing evidence-based interventions across the globe which have been implemented in schools and other educational contexts from childhood to late adolescence.
Prof. Dr. Annalisa Guarini
Prof. Dr. Antonella Brighi
Dr. Grace Skrzypiec
Prof. Dr. Phillip T. Slee
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- bullying
- cyberbullying
- interventions
- schools
- adolescence
- psychological well-being
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: The Role of Parental Mediation in the Associations Among Cyberbullying Bystanding, Depression, Subjective Health Complaints, and Self-Harm
Authors: Michelle F. Wright; Sebastian Wachs
Affiliation: Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60614, USA;
Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany;
Institute of Education, National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, Dublin City University, Dublin D09 DW93, Ireland.
Abstract: The goal of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of parental mediation in the longitudinal associations among cyberbullying bystanding, depression, subjective health complaints, and self-harm. There are 1,043 7th and 8th graders (M age = 13.93; 50% female) included in this study. They were from six middle schools located in the Midwestern United States. Cyberbullying bystanding was associated positively with restrictive parental mediation; restrictive parental mediation was related positively to cyberbullying bystanding, whereas co-viewing and instructive parental mediation strategies were associated negatively with cyberbullying bystanding. In addition, restrictive parental mediation was associated positively with depression, subjective health complaints, and self-harm, each measured one year later, while co-viewing and instructive parental mediation strategies were associated negatively with these variables. Restrictive parental mediation and instructive parental mediation strategies both moderated the relationships examined in this study. In particular, increases in restrictive parental mediation strengthened the association between cyberbullying bystanding and depression, subjective health complaints, and self-harm. On the other hand, instructive parental mediation weakened these associations. These findings underscore the importance of implementing interventions that increase parents’ awareness of the impact they have on their children’s experience of cyberbullying and to train them to implement effective parental mediation strategies. Ultimately, more attention should focus on developing parental intervention programs that focus on parents’ role in mitigating their children’s exposure to cyberbullying and the associated negative outcomes.