Characteristics of cyberbullying and psychopathology of victims

Características del ciberacoso y psicopatología de las víctimas

Cyberbullying is a new form of intimidation and harassment, different from traditional ways, and has been shown to have effects on the appearance of psychopathologies in those subjects who suffer it. Previous or current experiences of traditional harassment are associated with the appearance of behaviors that can lead to harassment appearance in victims and/or aggressors by different electronic means. Due to the specific nature of the Internet and other electronic means of communication between individuals, there seems to be more easily for the process of intimidation to occur and, after a time, the victims who become aggressors, which is more common than in traditional harassment. Victims and the aggressors have emotional and psychosomatic problems, social and academic difficulties. Psychopathology that occurs in subjects, which includes emotional stress, social anxiety, and consumption of psychoactive substances, is related to appearance of suicidal tendencies. Studies should be carried out to evaluate the different factors that may favor cyberbullying both in groups of children and adolescents and in adults in an attempt to avoid or limit the effects, since there is no clear consensus in the literature on how to prevent or manage the effects of cyberbullying in victims. The objective of this review was to evaluate the possible associations between characteristics of cyberbullying and psychopathology of victims.

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