Engl. transl.: (CYBER)HARASSMENT AND RESOURCES MOBILIZED BY TEENAGERS - PART 1

Since January 2016, the Mental Health Reference Center has been developing a mission of observing the uses and problematic uses of the Internet and video games. For this first issue, CRéSaM has decided to look at the question of (cyber) harassment and the resources mobilized by adolescents when they are faced with this type of situation.

"A significant difference was found depending on gender. 74% of the harassment situations that are mentioned concern girls. This percentage does not correspond to the prevalence of scientific literature which lists, on average, a relatively balanced distribution between genders when it comes to cyberbullying. The explanation lies probably more in terms of the intensity of the experience than the frequency. The experience of psychological distress is generally more important for girls. Repetitive episodes of bullying are predictive of intense emotional response in the form of anxiety and depression in girls more than it is in boys. Note that this observation should not be misunderstood. Many boys experience the harassment of which they whereas girls are more likely to use rumination and focus their attention on their negative emotions, boys are more likely to try to find distractions to escape these emotions like playing video games. There is a difference in strategies between the two genders: girls talk more willingly about their problems adopting a social support strategy when they are faced with a stressful situation. This strategy includes emotional support (sharing feelings) and informational support (seek information on the problem from competent people). Contrary to boys who seem to use control strategies more readily through action to cope with stressful situations while avoiding ruminations through distraction strategies. This may be explained by the fact that from an early age, boys are invited not to overexert themselves on their feelings but rather to act. For their part, girls can express their emotions and show sensitive, but they are less encouraged to action. These gender stereotypes are are inevitably found in the coping strategies of (cyber)bullying." (Minotte & Antoin, 2016, pp. 6-12, translated by Joanna Beeckmans)