Relationship between cyberbullying and mental health of teenage victims in Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION

Cyberbullying the act of using digital platforms to harass, intimidate, or demean others, has become an issue of growing concern. The development of digital technology use in Saudi Arabia demands an awareness of the impact of cyberbullying and mental health among teenaged victims in KSA.

AIMS

The purpose is to find the prevalence of cyberbullying and its forms as well as effect on teenager's mental health in KSA.

METHODOLOGY

The research design is a cross-sectional survey conducted in educational settings to understand the types of cyberbullying among teenagers and affects in mental health. Data collection was conducted using an online self-administered questionnaire distributed to participants through online platforms as well as hard copy for those who cannot access digital media.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Completed surveys were checked for completeness and data analysis was conducted using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations as appropriate based on the type and distribution of variables. Associations were tested using appropriate statistical tests. values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

Data revealed that 45% of teenagers had encountered cyberbullying with serious psychological effects such as stress and depression, anxiety and there is a difference in cyberbullying between urban-rural areas of residence and gender.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall results demonstrate that there is an urgent need in KSA for custom-guided educational and mental health support for all teenagers at home as well as in educational institutions to better respond to cyberbullying.