Cyberbullying among Adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Psychosocial Correlates for School-Based Health Promotion Interventions

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1653367/v1

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Cyberbullying among Adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Psychosocial Correlates for School-Based Health Promotion Interventions

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1653367/v1

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Background

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of cyberbullying among in-school adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Method

We explored the 2018 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ Global School-based Health Survey with a sample size of 1,877 in-school teenagers (aged 11 - 18 years old). Using a binomial logistic regression modelling, statistically estimated Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) at a 95% confidence interval were utilised to determine the predictors of cyberbullying.

Results

Results showed a 15.7% (10.8% males vs. 20.5% females) prevalence of cyberbullying among in-school teenagers. Also, psychosocial correlates like being a female (AOR 2.387, 95% CI 1.694 – 3.362), being physically attacked (AOR 0.702, 95% CI 0.494 –0.997), being involved in a physical fight (AOR .702, 95% CI 0.499 – 0.988), being bullied on a school property (AOR 0.458, 95% CI 0.326 – 0.645), being bullied off a school property (AOR 0.261, 95% CI 0.185 – 0.368), having ever considered suicide (AOR 0.577, 95% CI 0.418–0.796), and having ever had sex (AOR 0.484, 95% CI 0.350–0.669) significantly predicted cyberbullying.

Conclusion

Further, school-based health interventions focusing on the identified psychosocial correlates are required to mitigate cyberbullying in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Trail Registration: Global School-Based Student Health Survey 2018 (VCT_2018_GSHS_v01) Registered August 20, 2021, https://extranet.who.int/ncdsmicrodata/index.php/catalog/878.

Cyberbullying

In-School Adolescents

Population Growth

Saint Vincent and the Grenadine

Psychosocial Factors

Many people, companies, and organisations worldwide rely on digital tools to communicate, exchange ideas, and stay connected. This technological growth is due to the fast expansion in information and communication technologies, causing many changes in the lives of countless individuals (Chisholm, 2014). Online communication and virtual communities are essential opportunities for many people to connect with their friends and relatives. According to Gianesini and Brighi (2015), online communication via the internet is popular among the young because it creates a sense of privacy and fosters more self-disclosure than face-to-face conversation. Undoubtedly, modern communication and social networking tools in our society have both beneficial and adverse consequences (Baek, & Bullock, 2014; Chisholm, 2014; Hajnal, 2021).

Electronic communication tools have been found to support perpetrators immensely to carry out their cyberbullying acts. Cyberbullying is “an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time, against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself” (Smith et al., 2008, p. 376). According to Dhungana (2012), roughly 6.2% of 41,098 young people in the United States who had access to electronic communication tools had cyberbullied others in the previous 30 days, while 9.3% had been cyberbullied. According to Li (2009), 25% of 157 children in Canada between the ages of 12 and 15 were victims of cyberbullying, while 15% had ever perpetrated cyberbullying. In China, 44% of cyberbullies claimed they had harassed their peers a couple of times when they had the opportunity to communicate with them online. Another study in China, Li (2009), also discovered that almost 33% of 197 students interviewed reported that they had ever been cyberbullied one to three times. According to Chang et al. (2013), about 18.4% of 2992 youth in Taiwan had ever fallen victim to cyberbullies.

Furthermore, Tippett and Kwak (2012) studied the frequency of cyberbullying among 416 Korean teenagers. They found that 10% of pupils had been bullied using mobile phones, 6.3% had been abused over the internet, and 43% had been distressed through online games. Bullying during online games entails harassing or impeding opponents from achieving their goals. Online gaming is spreading fast in many developed countries because of access to the internet and cellular phones. For example, in a study conducted on adolescents’ mobile phone use behaviour in Korea, it was found that nearly 30% of the adolescents who engaged in online gaming bullied their peers. The central message from the above discussions is that increasing internet and mobile phone usage among adolescent populations has promoted cyberbullying (Låftman et al., 2013).

Earlier studies have established several psychosocial factors explaining why people, particularly adolescents, engage in or are subjected to cyberbullying. Key among these factors are gender and age differences (Hinduja, & Patchin, 2008; Wang et al., 2019). Several authors (Kim et al., 2019; Leung et al., 2018; Lozano-Blasco et al., 2020; Wiguna et al., 2018). According to Hinduja and Patchin (2008), girls are 6% more likely to experience cyberbullying than boys will do before becoming an adult. Similarly, Li (2006) noted female victims were more likely to report cyberbullying than males. Notwithstanding this general gender picture, few studies reported no gender differences in cyberbullying victims (Makri-Botsari, & Karagianni, 2013) or cyberbullying activities (Balakrishnan, 2015). Similar to gender differences in cyberbullying, studies have shown conflicting evidence regarding age differences over the years. For example, Wang et al. (2019) indicated that younger people experienced higher cyberbullying rates than older adults in a New Zealand national survey (N = 20,849). Balakrishnan (2015), on the other hand, suggested no age differences in cyberbullying activities.

Another important correlate of cyberbullying activities is physical and emotional violent behaviours and their consequences. Evidence over the years have pointed to an overlap of different forms of youth violence like physical bullying, cyberbullying, physical fighting, and sexual harassment (Johansson, & Englund, 2021; Kowalski, & Limber, 2013; Smokowski et al., 2014; Turner et al., 2010; Vivolo-Kantor et al., 2021). Evidence by Turner et al. (2010) suggested that children below 18 years old are more likely to experience poly-victimisation, a situation where the victim experiences multiple kinds of violence. Additionally, Litwiller and Brausch (2013) noted that cyberbullying and physical bullying are associated with violent youth, drug and substance use, suicidal, and unsafe sexual behaviours.

Among the endangerments of cyberbullying, a survey of high school students from a multiethnic sample in Hawaii showed that victims were more likely (2.5 times) to abuse drugs and substances than their colleagues (Goebert et al., 2011). Unlike non-victims, 18.14%, 10.03%, and 1.95% of cyberbullying victims in Quebec high schools were more likely to use alcohol, cannabis and other drugs, respectively (Cénat et al., 2018). Related to drug and substance use are adverse mental health outcomes like suicidal behaviours (Litwiller, & Brausch, 2013). Cyberbullying victimisation strongly connects positively with suicidal behaviours among children and young people (Hébert et al., 2016; John et al., 2018). This linkage between cyberbullying and suicidal behaviours can be explained by the incidence of drug use and mental health problems like anxiety and depression victims experience after their exposure to cyberbullying (Elgar et al., 2014).

Although it is evident that these psychosocial factors have some connections with cyberbullying, little is known about the case of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a country pursuing technological progress. Considering the scantiness of evidence on cyberbullying among adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, little is known about the extent to which these revealing factors predict cyberbullying activities. Consequently, few evidence-based school health promotion interventions can be implemented to mitigate this growing global health concern in this Island country. Furthermore, cyberbullying as a negative behaviour could adversely affect the Island country’s efforts to attain the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) by 2030 (United Nations, 2016). For example, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines must achieve by 2030 the educational, health, and wellbeing targets 3.5 and 4.1 of SGDs 3 and 4, respectively. Specifically, Goal 3 is to “ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages,” with target 3.5 seeking to “strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol” (United Nations, 2016, p. 16).

Also, Goal 4 requires Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” with target 4.1 ensuring that “all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes” (United Nation, 2016, p. 18). If this negative behaviour not adequately handled, the quality of education and health among adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will be affected as cyberbullying victimisation is associated with increasing school attendance problems and poor academic performance (Gardella et al., 2017). In line with the discussions above, our primary focus was to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullying and related psychosocial correlates among in-school adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Data sources and study design

We performed a cross-sectional examination of the 2018 Global School Health Survey (GSHS) data for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The GSHS is a study of in-school teenagers in schools around the world, undertaken in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The surveys collected data on various teen health risks and protective variables using a standardised questionnaire. The issues covered in the survey included loneliness, friendliness, bullying behaviours, eating habits, hygienic circumstances, human mental health difficulties, adolescent physical activities, juvenile substance use, and youth sexual behaviours. The questionnaire that was used in this investigation was previously published. The survey dataset was obtained in January of 2022, and it is freely available online to anyone who wants to utilise it. The link to the dataset on the adolescent’s lifestyle choices is at: https://extranet.who.int/ncdsmicrodata/index.php/catalog/878

Ethical consideration

Institutional approval was obtained from the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Environment of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines before the data collection was done. Also, all ethical regulations concerning human studies were carefully followed. Furthermore, all principals and teachers at the selected schools gave their informed consent during data collection. In-school teenagers who were minors obtained parental or guardian approval and child agreement before inclusion in the study.

Sampling method and sample size

The two-stage cluster sample design followed the sampling design followed to obtain data from the in-school adolescents of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Community College. In the first stage, schools were picked using a probability proportionate to enrollment size. Courses were selected at random for the second stage, and all students in those classes could participate. The school had a 100% response rate, the students had a 78% response rate, and the overall response rate was 78%. A total of 1,877 students completed the survey. In-school adolescent students aged 11 to 18 who were at school on the day of data collection and provided evidence of a documented parental or guardian agreement form and a child assent form for students ages 10 to 17 were included in the survey. The study’s sampling method ensured that every eligible student had an equal chance of being chosen for participation in the study. Numerical weights were assigned to each student record to allow for the generalisation of results. The study included a total of 1,877 in-school adolescents in the final analysis. In developing the manuscript, the ‘Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guideline was used (von Elm et al., 2014).

Study variables

Outcome variable

Cyberbullying is the study’s outcome variable. Cyberbullying has been defined as the intentional and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, or other electronic devices (Kowalski et al., 2014, Patchin, & Hinduja, 2010). Cyber perpetration and victimisation, commonly termed cyberbullying, has gained much acceptance in the contemporary literature and has also been used widely by several authors such as Patchin and Hinduja (2010) to study adolescents’ activities in cyberspace. The responses about whether a student has been cyberbullied were inquired with the question ‘During the past 12 months, have you ever been cyberbullied (i.e. being bullied through texting, Instagram, Snapchat and other forms of frequently-used media)’. The students who responded “No” to the inquiry were classified as “not being cyberbullied [No]”, whereas those among them who responded “Yes” were categorised as “cyberbullied [Yes].”

Explanatory variables

We considered sixteen (16) explanatory variables in this study. The variables were chosen because they were available in the GSHS datasets and showed a strong association with cyberbullying. The selection of independent variables was influenced by a study by Martínez et al. (2019) investigating cyberbullying victimisation and various factors contributing to cyberbullying in Spain. Table 1 describes the independent variables and questions, response options, and identification codes.

Table 1. Definition of Explanatory and Measurement Coding of Variables

Variable	Survey question	Coding
Sex	What is your sex?	1 male, 2 female
Age	How old are you?	1 11–14, 2 16–18
Physical attacks	Have you been attacked physically before?	1 yes, 2 no
Physical fight	Have you been involved in a physical fight before?	1 yes, 2 no
Serious injured	Have you been seriously injured before?	1 yes, 2 no
Physically bullied on school property	Have you been physically bullied on school property before?	1 yes, 2 no
Suicidal consideration	Did you ever seriously consider attempting suicide in the past twelve months?	1 yes, 2 no
Suicidal plan	Did you make a plan about how you would attempt suicide in the past twelve months?	1 yes, 2 no
Suicidal attempt	Did you attempt suicide in the past twelve months?	1 yes, 2 no
Current cigarette smoking	In the previous 30 days, did you smoke a cigarette?	1 yes, 2 no
Current tobacco smoking	In the previous 30 days, did you smoke tobacco?	1 yes, 2 no
Ever used amphetamine	In the previous 30 days, did you ever use amphetamine?	1 yes, 2 no
Current marijuana smoking	Did you ever smoke marijuana in the previous 30 days?	1 yes, 2 no
Sexual intercourse	Have you ever had sexual intercourse before?	1 yes, 2 no
Multiple sexual intercourses	During the past 30 days, did you have sexual intercourse with multiple partners?	1 yes, 2 no

Statistical analyses

The data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23. We carried out the analysis in three stages. To begin, percentages were used to depict the prevalence of ‘being cyberbullied.’ In the second stage, the Pearson chi-square test of independence was employed to assess the relationship between ‘being cyberbullied’ and the explanatory variables (Table 2). A multivariate binomial logistic regression was used to examine the association between the explanatory variables and ‘being cyberbullied.’ During the chi-square test, any explanatory factors that were statistically significant in relation to any of the outcome variables were incorporated into the regression model. The results were presented in a tabular form with their associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We weighted all frequency distributions, and SPSS commands were used for the estimations to account for the complex survey design and data discrepancies.

Adolescents’ background characteristics

The overall prevalence of cyberbullying among Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ adolescents of school-going age was 15.7%. In terms of the demographic characteristics of the students, cyberbullying was high among female students (20.5%, p<0.001). Additionally, cyberbullying prevailed in high percentages of psychosocial factors among adolescent students who were physically attacked (24.2%, p<0.001), who were engaged in a physical fight (22.1%, p=0.000), who were seriously injured (18.6%, p<0.001), who were being bullied on school property (32.4%, p<0.001), who were being bullied off school property (40.6%, p<0.001).

Table 2. Bivariate Analysis of ‘Being Cyberbullied’ among Adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (n = 1, 877)

Factors			Cyberbullying				Chi-square (χ²)		φ_c
			Yes (%) No (%)
Demographics
Sex	Male		92 (10.8%)		763 (89.2%)		32.34^∗∗∗		-1.133
	Female		198 (20.5%)		766 (79.5%)
Age	11 -15		159 (54.3%)		849 (55.5%)		0.149		0.009
	16 -18		134 (45.7%)		681 (44.5%)
Violent behaviours and consequences
Were physically attacked	Yes		114(42.0%)		357 (58.0%)		31.47^∗∗		0.132
	No		177 (13.2%)		1166 (86.8%)
Were in a physical fight	Yes		123 (22.1%)		433 (77.9%)		23.29^∗∗		0.114
	No		161 (13.1.%)		1068 (89.9%)
Were seriously injured	Yes	154 (18.6%)		674 (81.4%)		11. 91^∗∗		0.085
	No	103 (12.5%)		724 (87.5%)
Bullied on school property	Yes	138 (32.4%)		151 (10.9%)		11. 91^∗∗∗		0.249
	No	288 (67.6%)		1238 (89.1%)
Bullied of school property	Yes	126 (40.6%)		153 (10.2%)		181. 34^∗∗∗		0.317
	No	184 (50.9%)		1340 (89.8%)
Suicidal behaviours						61.39^∗∗∗		0.184
Considered suicide	Yes	130 (26.9%)		155 (11.7.%)
	No	353 (73.1%)		1167 (88.3%)
Planned suicide	Yes	123 (27.2%)		164 (12.1%)		57.914^∗∗∗		0.179
	No	329 (21.6%)		1191 (78.4%)
Attempted suicide	Yes	87 (27.10%)		198 (13.4%)		37.30^∗∗∗		0.144
	No	234 (72.90%)		1282 (86.6%)
Drugs and substance use						15.17^∗∗∗		0.092
Cigarette smoking	Yes	35 (28.2%)		251 (15.0%)
	No	89 (71.8%)		1425 (85.0%)
Tobacco smoking	Yes	33 (27.7%)		262 (15.3%)		12.69^∗∗∗		0.083
	No	89(72.3%)		1449 (71.8%)
Ever used amphetamine	Yes	19 (27.1%)		256 (15.1%)		7.37^∗∗∗		0.065
	No	51 (72.9 %)		1436 (84.9%)
Marijuana smoking	Yes	59 (22.8%)		221 (14.8%)		10.59^∗∗		0.078
	No	200 (77.2%)		1276 (85.2%)
Sexual behaviours						15.63^∗∗		0.095
Ever had sexual intercourse	Yes	168 (18.7%)		97 (36.6%)
	No	729 (81.3%)		723 (88.2%)
Had multiple sexual partners	Yes	115 (19.5%)		162 (13.9%)		9.238^∗∗		0.072
	No	476 (80.5%)		1006 (85.2%)

Note. **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

Again, high percentages of cyberbullying were found among those who had considered suicide (26.9%, p<0.000), who had planned suicide (27.2%, p<0.000), and those who had attempted suicide (27.1%, p<0. 001). In terms of substance use, a high prevalence was found among those who at the time were smoking cigarettes (28.8%, p<0.000), smoking tobacco (27.7%, p<0.001), using marijuana (22.8%, p=0.001), using amphetamine or methamphetamine (27.1%, p=0.007). Lastly, those who had ever had sexual intercourse (18.7%, p<0.001) and those who had sexual intercourse with multiple persons (19.5%, p<0.002) reported a relatively high percentage that they were cyberbullied.

Distribution and Chi-Square Analysis of ‘being cyberbullied’ among Adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The results from the conduct of the Chi-square test indicates that students’ sex (χ² = 32.34, p<0.001), age (χ² = 0.149, p= 0.699), physical attack situation (χ²= 31.47p=0.000), physical fight situation (χ²= 23.29, p<0.001), injury condition (χ²= 11. 91, p<0.001), physically bullied on school property (χ²= 11. 91, p<0.001), physically bullied off school property (χ²= 181. 34, p<0.001), suicide consideration (χ²= 61.39, p<0.001), suicide planning (χ²= 57.914, p<0.001), suicide attempts (χ²= 37.30, p=0. 000), cigarette smoking habit (χ²= 15.17, p<0.001), tobacco smoking habit (χ²= 12.69, p=0.000), amphetamine or methamphetamine use habit (χ²= 12.69, p<0.007) marijuana use habit (χ²= 10.59, p<0.001), (χ²= 12.69, p<0.007), sexual intercourse-initiated habit (χ²15.63, p<0.001) multiple sexual intercourse cultivated habits (χ²= 9.238^∗∗, p<0.002) associated significantly with cyberbullying, among adolescents of school-going age in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Logistic Regression Analysis of Significant Factors Associated with Cyberbullying

Seven factors were found to be associated with cyberbullying. Table 3 displays the results of the binomial logistic regression analysis done on the factors associated with cyberbullying among school-going adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The results from the analysis showed that being a female (AOR= 2.387, 95% CI= 1.694-3.362), being physically attacked (AOR= 0.702, 95% CI = 0.494-0.997), being involved in physical fight (AOR= 0.702, 95% CI= 0.499-0.988), being bullied on a school property (AOR= 0.458, 95% CI= 0.326-0.645), being bullied off a school property (AOR= 0.261, 95% CI= 0.185-0.368), having ever considered suicide (AOR= 0.577, 95% CI= 0.418-0.796) and having had sex before (AOR= 0.484, 95% CI = 0.350-0.669) added significance to the model of cyberbullying among adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Table 3. Factors associated with cyberbullying among in-school adolescents

Variables	B	Wald test (z-ratio)	Odds ratio	Sig.	95% confidence interval for odds ratio
Variables	B	Wald test (z-ratio)	Odds ratio	Sig.	Lower	Upper
Demographics
Sex	0.870	24.731	2.387	0.000	1.694	3.362
Violent behaviours and related consequences
Were physically attacked	-0.354	3.915	0.702	0.048	0.494	0.997
Were in a physical fight	-0.353	4.108	0.702	0.043	0.499	0.988
Bullied on school property	-0.780	20.035	0.458	0.000	0.326	0.645
Bullied of school property	-1.345	58.413	0.261	0.000	0.185	0.368
Suicidal behaviours
Considered suicide	-0.550	11.205	0.577	0.001	0.418	0.796
Sexual behaviours
Ever had sexual intercourse	-0.726	19.299	0.484	0.000	0.350	0.669
(Constant)	2.803	286.378	16.490	0.000

Note. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, Hosmer and Lemeshow test (goodness of fit), χ2 (8) 11.890, P<0.156.

The study examined the prevalence of cyberbullying and its associated factors among in-school adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The study found a 15.7% of prevalence rate of cyberbullying among adolescents. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an overall cyberbullying prevalence of 15.7% of 1,877 is somewhat lower than 18.4% of 2,992 Taiwanese in-school adolescents (Chang et al., 2013). Granting that Li (2009) and Saleem et al. (2021) presented higher prevalence rates of 33% (n = 197 Chinese youth) and 90% (n = 273 Pakistani youth), respectively, their sample sizes are relatively smaller to make adequate comparisons. Thus, the prevalence of cyberbullying among Saint Vincent and Grenadines’ adolescents vis-à-vis their sample size presents a global mental health concern.

Furthermore, sex, explicitly being female, was significantly associated with cyberbullied victims. This finding is common in most studies across different populations in African, Asian, North American, South America, Antarctica, European, and Australian cultures (Jadambaa et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2019; Leung et al., 2018; Lozano-Blasco et al., 2020; Wiguna et al., 2018). On the contrary, Makri-Botsari and Karagianni (2013) noted no gender differences in cyberbullying victims, although males are more likely to commit cyberbullying than females.

Also, the present study noted that violent physical behaviours and related consequences are significant correlates of cyberbullying. Specifically, our results found a significant association between cyberbullying and physical attack, physical fighting, and physical bullying among adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Similarly, Ševčíková et al. (2012) observed that cyberbullying connects with school-based violence or peer-related aggressive activities. Besides, Waasdorp and Bradshaw (2015) noted an overlap between cyberbullying with traditional bullying (relational, verbal, and physical) among 28,104 adolescents in the 9th to 12th grades.

Our findings indicated that suicidal behaviours (ideation, plan, and attempt) were significantly associated with cyberbullying. However, adolescents considering suicide were more likely to be victims of cyberbullying. As a risk factor for suicide, Swiss and Australian adolescents who were victims of cyberbullying reported depressive symptoms (Perren et al., 2010). Likewise, intentions such as having ever considered suicide correlated significantly with cyberbullying as victims became depressed by their bullies’ behaviours (Hinduja, & Patchin, 2010). Although Chang et al. (2019) observed a similar positive association between suicide ideation and cyberbullying victimisation among Hong Kong adolescents, their study indicated that life satisfaction with family mitigated the possibility of a suicide attempt.

Finally, results from the present study indicated that sexual behaviours like a history of sexual intercourse and multiple sexual partners significantly correlated with cyberbullying. Proceeding logistic regression showed that a history of sexual intercourse predicted cyberbullying victimisation. This phenomenon of sexual cyberbullying is becoming one of the major complex forms engaged by most adolescents (Ehman, & Gross, 2019). Their review noted that social and cultural factors like the use of alcohol and drugs, hookup sex culture, sex taping, and revenge porn usually complicate this problem. Navarro (2016) reported that male adolescents typically record sexual acts and share against female sex partners through electronic media.

This study examined the prevalence and psychosocial factors of cyberbullying among in-school adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines using the 2018 GSHS datasets. We observed a 15.7% (10.8% males vs. 20.5% females) prevalence of cyberbullying among in-school teenagers. Psychosocial correlates of cyberbullying observed included being a female (AOR 2.387, 95% CI 1.694 – 3.362), being physically attacked (AOR 0.702, 95% CI 0.494 –0.997), being involved in a physical fight (AOR .702, 95% CI 0.499 – 0.988), being bullied on a school property (AOR 0.458, 95% CI 0.326 – 0.645), being bullied off a school property (AOR 0.261, 95% CI 0.185 – 0.368), having ever considered suicide (AOR 0.577, 95% CI 0.418–0.796), and having ever had sex (AOR 0.484, 95% CI 0.350–0.669). The rigorous analytical processes followed to analyse the data have improved generalising the findings. Conversely, the results could not guarantee causal inferences as GSHS utilises a cross-sectional study design. Notwithstanding this limitation, our study provides a good national picture of the prevalence and correlates of cyberbullying among adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Thus, our findings should be considered in planning and implementing anti-cyberbullying school health promotion programs for adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

AOR

Adjusted Odd Ratio

CDC

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

confidence intervals

GSHS

Global School Health Survey

SPSS

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

STROBE

Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology

WHO

World Health Organization.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all the participants, parents, teachers, and school’s administration who supported this study. Also, we would like to thank WHO and CDC for supporting the GSHS.

Author contributions

DOM and JOS conceived the idea of the study. DOM, JOS, and A-AS downloaded and analysed data and prepared tables. DOM, JOS, A-AS, and BOA wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Funding

None.

Availability of data and materials

This paper uses data from the GSHS. The GSHS is supported by the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This dataset is freely available at: https://extranet.who.int/ncdsmicrodata/index.php/catalog/878

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All procedures contributing to this project are in accordance with with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Boards of Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Environment of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, WHO, and CDC. Written and signed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Trail Registration: Global School-Based Student Health Survey 2018 (VCT_2018_GSHS_v01) Registered August 20, 2021, https://extranet.who.int/ncdsmicrodata/index.php/catalog/878.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cyberbullying among Adolescents in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Psychosocial Correlates for School-Based Health Promotion Interventions

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