Swedish adolescents’ experiences of cybervictimization and body‐related concerns
Publication details
| Year: | 2020 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/sjop.12561 |
| Issued: | 2019 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 61 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page: | 68 |
| End Page: | 76 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Frisén A.; Berne S. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | Scandinavian Journal of Psychology |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Topics: | Wellbeing; Risks and harms |
| Sample: | The total number of adolescents who participated in this study was 482 (233 girls and 247 boys): 147 from the 7th grade (mean age: 12.86 years ± 0.37), 174 from the 8th grade (mean age: 13.83 years ± 0.39) and 161 from the 9th grade (mean age: 14:82 years ± 0.59). They attended 4 different schools in 1 major city in Sweden. |
| Implications For Educators About: | Other |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Researchers; Healthcare; Other |
| Other Stakeholder Implication: | Developing preventions that include knowledge about the consequences of cyberbullying directed at the victims appearance as well as interventions that concern the double burden of both struggling with victimization and also struggling with body concerns. |
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between cybervictimization and three body-related concerns: body-esteem, self-objectification, and internalization of body ideals. The aim was also to examine these relationships not only to cybervictimization in general but also to appearance-related cybervictimization more specifically. The sample comprised 482 adolescents (233 girls and 247 boys aged 13–15; two participants did not answer the question about gender) from four Swedish schools. The results showed that victims of appearance-related cyberbullying suffered from more body-related concerns: they had a poorer view of their general appearance and of their weight. They also reported more body shame, thin-ideal internalization, and appearance-related pressure from the media. This study shows that cyberbullying that focuses on the victim's appearance is associated with several body-related concerns that have not previously been studied. A novel finding was also that body-related concerns were not related to cyberbullying in general, as has been implied in earlier research, but specifically related to cyberbullying directed at the victim's appearance. The findings suggest that there is a need to include attention to the specific relationships between appearance-related cyberbullying and body-related concerns in future prevention and intervention work.
Outcome
"This study highlights that cyberbullying that focuses on the victim's appearance is associated with a broad range of body-related concerns. The results showed that victims of appearance-related cyberbullying report a poorer view of their general appearance and of their weight than non-appearance-related cybervictims. They also reported more body shame, thin-ideal internalization, and appearance-related pressure from the media. These findings concerned cyberbullying directed at the victim's appearance rather than cyberbullying in general." (Authors, 75)