Children's and adolescents' negative internet experiences and the association with quality of life and behavioural difficulties: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies have assessed cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration in children. However, the internet poses risks beyond cyberbullying. This study explores the prevalence of eight different negative online experiences and their associations with sociodemographic characteristics, media use, behavioural difficulties and quality of life in children and adolescents.

METHODS

The sample included 622 participants aged 10-17 years who provided information on negative internet experiences (exclusion, financial loss, disturbing content, hurtful comments, tracking, misuse of personal data, threat, other harmful experiences), media use, symptoms of problematic smartphone use (PSU) (Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale), behavioural difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), quality of life (KIDSCREEN-27 Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children and Young People and their Parents) and sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, type of school, maternal education, family income). Poisson regressions were performed to evaluate associations.

RESULTS

Negative internet experiences were prevalent in 31% of participants. Individual factors (older age, female sex, family income), media usage characteristics (high media use, PSU symptoms) and mental health factors (poor quality of life, behavioural difficulties) were associated with a higher frequency of self-reported negative internet experiences. In contrast, type of school and maternal education were not significantly associated with negative internet experiences.

CONCLUSION

Our study indicates that negative internet experiences are highly prevalent in adolescents, particularly those struggling with mental health issues. This underlines the importance of preventive measures. Longitudinal studies are needed to disentangle the potential interdependence of mental health and negative internet experiences.