The impact of bullying cognition on school bullying among Chinese primary school students: a moderated mediation model of resilience and sex.

Background: Previous studies have shown the positive effects of bullying cognition on school bullying behavior among young people, but the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 5,903 primary school students in grades 3-5 in Luzhou city. Hayes' PROCESS macro was used to test the mediating effect of psychological resilience and the moderating effect of sex on the relationship between bullying cognition and school bullying after controlling for grade. Results: Psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship between school bullying cognition and victimization (ß = -0.0174, 95% CI: -0.0219 to -0.0132) and between perpetration (ß = -0.0079, 95% CI: -0.0104 to -0.0055). This study revealed that sex moderated the relationship between school bullying cognition and perpetration (ß = 0.0383, p < 0.001) and victimization behavior (ß = 0.0400, p < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest that it is crucial for education regulators, schools, and families to cultivate students' school bullying cognitions and psychological resilience, which may help to decrease the prevalence of school bullying. Especially for boys, improving their bullying cognition may largely decrease its perpetration.

Bullying victimization in schools in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the implementation of antibullying policies, schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed an increase in bullying prevalence. The aim of our study was to assess bullying victimization in schools in the UAE, types of bullying, and factors and outcomes related to bullying behavior. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in randomly selected private and public schools in Al Ain City. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from students in grades 6-8 (Ages 10-15). We adapted the US CDC 'Bully Survey' for cultural relevance in the UAE through feedback from focus group meetings with teachers. Data analysis, conducted using R software, involved stratified analysis by school type and utilized Chi-Squared and Fisher's exact tests to identify factors associated with school bullying. RESULTS: The study sample consisted of 723 students of whom 68% were males, and 58% were Emirati nationals. The overall prevalence of bullying victimization in schools was 37%, with 40% in private schools and 35% in public schools. Cyberbullying was more prevalent in private schools (37%). Physical bullying was reported by 20% and verbal bullying by 12%, with a higher prevalence of physical bullying in private schools (24%) and among males (23%). The study's findings showed significant emotional and academic impacts of bullying, including feelings of sadness and learning difficulties, contributing to a rise in school absenteeism. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals widespread bullying victimization in UAE schools, mainly in classrooms, with group exclusion and verbal abuse as key forms. It underscores bullying's psychological impact and the greater awareness of parents compared to teachers. The effective intervention strategies should not only involve students, teachers, and school staff, but also actively engage parents by fostering stronger communication channels between schools and families, and providing parents with resources and training to recognize and address bullying. These strategies should aim to create a cohesive network involving the entire school community, thus fostering a safer and more inclusive environment for students. The findings stress the need for inclusive antibullying programs involving the entire school community to foster a safer environment.

Relative victimization scale: initial development and retrospective reports of the impact on mental health.

BACKGROUND: Bullying and victimization have been studied in many contexts and classified as peer victimization in school settings and parental or sibling victimization within family settings. Yet, current research is scarce on whether victimization occurring within family settings is specific to parental or sibling victimization. Thus, the current study aims to develop a scale assessing victimization conducted by relatives and provide support for its psychometric properties. METHODS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal data were collected from university students (1622 and 1045 students, respectively) and participants responded to questionnaires via an online survey. RESULTS: EFA and CFA results demonstrated the unidimensionality of the Relative Victimization Scale (RVS) consisting of eight items. In terms of convergent validity, RVS scores were correlated with the scores on parental, sibling, and peer victimization scales and several psychological health outcomes including depression, anxiety, social anxiety, perceived stress, loneliness, negative and positive affect, life satisfaction, and resilience. Moreover, RVS explained a significant amount of variance beyond the contribution of parental, sibling, and peer victimization in those psychological health outcomes for the support of incremental validity. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study indicated the potential utility of the RVS in assessing the experience of relative victimization through offering support for internal consistency reliability and construct, longitudinal predictive, and incremental validity.

Frequent Social Media Use and Experiences with Bullying Victimization, Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness, and Suicide Risk Among High School Students - Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023.

Social media has become a pervasive presence in everyday life, including among youths. In 2023, for the first time, CDC's nationally representative Youth Risk Behavior Survey included an item assessing U.S. high school students' frequency of social media use. Data from this survey were used to estimate the prevalence of frequent social media use (i.e., used social media at least several times a day) among high school students and associations between frequent social media use and experiences with bullying victimization, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and suicide risk. All prevalence estimates and measures of association used Taylor series linearization. Prevalence ratios were calculated using logistic regression with predicted marginals. Overall, 77.0% of students reported frequent social media use, with observed differences by sex, sexual identity, and racial and ethnic identity. Frequent social media use was associated with a higher prevalence of bullying victimization at school and electronically, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and some suicide risk among students (considering attempting suicide and having made a suicide plan), both overall and in stratified models. This analysis characterizes the potential harms of frequent social media use for adolescent health among a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students. Findings might support multisectoral efforts to create safer digital environments for youths, including decision-making about social media policies, practices, and protections.

Risk of common psychiatric disorders, suicidal behaviours, and premature mortality following violent victimisation: A matched cohort and sibling-comparison study of 127,628 people who experienced violence in Finland and Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Associations between violent victimisation and psychiatric disorders are hypothesised to be bidirectional, but the role of violent victimisation in the aetiologies of psychiatric disorders and other adverse outcomes remains unclear. We aimed to estimate associations between violent victimisation and subsequent common psychiatric disorders, suicidal behaviours, and premature mortality while accounting for unmeasured familial confounders. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using nationwide registers, we identified a total of 127,628 individuals born in Finland (1987 to 2004) and Sweden (1973 to 2004) who had experienced violent victimisation, defined as either hospital admissions or secondary care outpatient visits for assault-related injuries. These were age- and sex-matched with up to 10 individuals in the general population (n = 1,276,215). Additionally, we matched those who had experienced violent victimisation with their unaffected siblings (n = 132,408). Outcomes included depression, anxiety, personality disorders, alcohol use disorders, drug use disorders, suicidal behaviours, and premature mortality. Participants were followed from the victimisation date until the date of the outcome, emigration, death, or December 31, 2020, whichever occurred first. Country-specific associations were estimated using stratified Cox regression models, which also accounted for unmeasured familial confounders via sibling comparisons. The country-specific associations were then pooled using meta-analytic models. Among 127,628 patients (69.0% male) who had experienced violent victimisation, the median age at first violent victimisation was 21 (interquartile range: 18 to 26) years. Incidence of all outcomes was larger in those who were exposed to violent victimisation compared to population controls, ranging from 2.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) [2.2; 2.4]) per 1,000 person-years for premature mortality (compared with 0.6, 95% CI [0.6; 0.6], in controls) to 22.5 (95% CI [22.3; 22.8]) per 1,000 person-years for anxiety (compared with 7.3, 95% CI [7.3; 7.4], in controls). In adjusted models, people who had experienced violent victimisation were between 2 to 3 times as likely as their siblings to develop any of the outcomes, ranging from adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.7 (95% CI [1.7; 1.8]) for depression to 3.0 (95% CI [2.9; 3.1]) for drug use disorders. Risks remained elevated 2 years post-victimisation, ranging from aHR 1.4 (95% CI [1.3; 1.5]) for depression to 2.3 (95% CI [2.2; 2.4]) for drug use disorders. Our reliance on secondary care data likely excluded individuals with milder assault-related injuries and less severe psychiatric symptoms, thus suggesting that our estimates may be conservative. Another limitation is the possibility of residual genetic confounding, as full siblings share on average about half of their co-segregating genes. However, the associations remained robust even after adjusting for both measured and unmeasured familial confounders. CONCLUSIONS: In this longitudinal cross-national cohort study, we observed that those who had experienced violent victimisation were at least twice as likely as their unaffected siblings to develop common psychiatric disorders (i.e., depression, anxiety, personality disorder, and alcohol and drug use disorders), engage in suicidal behaviours, and to die prematurely. Importantly, these risk elevations remained 2 years after the first victimisation event. Improving clinical assessment, management, and aftercare psychosocial support could therefore potentially reduce rates of common psychiatric disorders, suicidality, and premature mortality in individuals experiencing violent victimisation.

Complex trauma and the unseen: who gets to be a victim?

The inclusion of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision in January 2022 marks a significant advancement in trauma recognition. However, while cPTSD offers a more inclusive framework, it risks perpetuating trauma hierarchies by reinforcing a division where some trauma responses are attributed to personality disorders (such as borderline personality disorder) and others to external factors (cPTSD). This division echoes one of the oldest themes in victimology-the separation of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' victims-raising broader questions about what is recognised as complex trauma. Survivors often face the danger of being 'unvictimed', where their experiences are dismissed or invalidated either internally or by families, society and institutions. Unvictiming results from trauma ideals that establish an elusive standard of what trauma should look like. While cPTSD broadens psychiatry's role in shaping these ideals, it merely moves the goalposts rather than changing the rules of the game. To prevent the reproduction of a two-tier system, we should adopt transdiagnostic and transmodality approaches, ensuring that complex trauma recognition is accessible to all who find it validating. While systemic changes are essential, we can immediately focus on small acts of trauma recognition within clinical settings, which validate survivors and help expand our collective understanding of trauma.

The chain mediating effect of anxiety and inhibitory control between bullying victimization and internet addiction in adolescents.

Although some studies have revealed the association between bullying victimization and internet addiction in adolescents, the mediating and moderating factors between the two need to be further discussed. This study aimed to discuss the chain mediating role of anxiety and inhibitory control between bullying victimization and internet addiction among Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted in seven schools in five provinces of China by convenience sampling from February to March 2024. A total of 1673 participants (695 boys and 978 girls) with an average age of 15.86 ± 0.74 years were included in this study. Subjective data on bullying victimization, internet addiction, anxiety, inhibitory control were collected and analyzed, and a mediation model test was carried out. After controlling for age and gender, bullying victimization was found to be a significant predictor of internet addiction (ß = 0.098, p < 0.001). However, when anxiety and inhibitory control were added, the predictive effect was no longer significant (ß = 0.006, p > 0.05). Bullying victimization can predict internet addiction through anxiety and inhibitory control. It is suggested that guardians should provide adequate support to adolescent bullying victims in order to reduce the negative impact of bullying victimization on adolescents and prevent the occurrence of internet addiction.

Prevalence of suicide ideation and its associated risk factors among undergraduate students of the university for development studies, Tamale.

BACKGROUND: Suicide and its associated risk factors are of public health importance across the globe. The affected persons are mostly the youth. Empirical research in this crucial area of public health is generally lacking, especially among undergraduate university students in Ghana. This study sought to determine the prevalence of suicide ideation, and its associated risk factors that statistically predict suicide ideation among undergraduate students. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted. A structured online questionnaire was used to elicit information on the prevalence of suicide ideation and its correlates. A systematic sampling technique was used to sample 400 respondents. Of this number, 53.25% were male and 46.75% were female. Data were analyzed using SPSS v26. Results were presented in charts, tables, and cross-tabulations. A regression analysis was also done to model suicide ideation with socio-demographic variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of suicide ideation among participants was 24.5%. Significant risk factors for suicide ideation found in the study were academic stress and victimization. Suicide ideation was predicted with statistical significance by the presence of victimization (OR = 3), and academic stress (OR = 2). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of suicide ideation among participants is real and will need combined efforts of university management and, the counseling unit to put in place interventions that will help avert suicide ideation and its dreaded squeal of completed suicide.

The Moderating Role of Family Communication in Suicidal Ideation and Victimization in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Traditional peer victimization and cyber-victimization are predictive risk factors for suicidal behavior in adolescents. Family communication is a protective factor that has seldom been studied in the specific problem of suicidal ideation in adolescent victims of traditional victimization and cyber-victimization. The objective of the present study was to use two different moderated mediation models to analyze the direct and indirect-mediating-effects of traditional victimization and cyber-victimization on suicidal ideation in adolescents, as well as the moderating role of family communication in the relationships between traditional victimization, cyber-victimization, and suicidal ideation. METHOD: 1007 adolescents (51.9% boys) aged 12-18 years participated. RESULTS: Significant direct and indirect effects of traditional victimization and cyber-victimization on suicidal ideation were confirmed. Family communication moderated the direct effects of cyber-victimization on suicidal ideation, but not the direct effects of traditional victimization on suicidal ideation. In addition, it moderated the relationship between traditional victimization and cyber-victimization. CONCLUSIONS: Family communication is a protective factor associated with decreased cyber-victimization in adolescents who suffer traditional victimization and reduced suicidal ideation in victims of cyber-victimization.

Suicidal Behavior in Adolescents: An Ecological-Relational Study.

BACKGROUND: The present study analyzes factors of adolescents' ecological-relational contexts in relation to suicidal behavior. In particular, it examined the role of peer bullying and cyberbullying, classroom climate, violence and partner victimization, parental socialization styles, and child-to-parent violence. METHOD: The participants are 2,977 Spanish adolescents attending seven secondary schools. They were aged 11-17 ( = 14.0, = 1.40; 51.5% girls). Multivariate logistic regression analyses and a two-step cluster analysis were applied to analyze the data. RESULTS: Findings showed a prevalence of suicidal thoughts in 43.3% of the sample, with 7.7% reporting suicide attempts. Adolescents experiencing high/low victimization (a = 3.10, < .001) and high cybervictimization (a = 1.67, < .001) were at risk. However, high cyberbullying involvement (a = 0.55, < .001) and not having a partner (a = 0.61, < .001) emerged as protective factors. Sex-specific analyses underscored distinct interaction effects, with suicidal behavior in girls being significantly related to maternal negative socialization (a = 1.57, = .05). CONCLUSIONS: An ecological-relational and sex approach is needed to understand and prevent suicidal behavior in adolescents.

Identity-Driven Targeted Violence in a College Setting: An Overview of Prevalence and Behavioral Responses.

BACKGROUND: Online and offline identity-driven harassment disproportionately affects minoritized college students, contributing to poorer academic performance and attrition. Because victims are often hesitant to formally report incidents, additional research is needed to understand the genuine prevalence of these experiences as well as the responses victims engage in following the incidents. METHODS: A large undergraduate sample (N = 2000) from a Midwestern university responded to an anonymous survey assessing the frequency of identity-driven behavior occurring on-campus and beyond, in addition to how they responded to harassment. RESULTS: The results unveiled that perpetrators most often targeted an individual's sex and gender, followed by their sexual orientation and race. Specific behaviors ranged from more frequent, mild forms of harassment (i.e., verbal harassment, invading space) to less frequent, severe forms of harassment (i.e., physical and sexual assault). Victims reported engaging in informal activities following harassment, such as relying on social support or ignoring the perpetrator. CONCLUSIONS: The current study unveiled patterns of identity-driven behaviors experienced by college students as well as how they respond to victimization. Future directions and practical implications are discussed.

The effects of perpetrator power on the duration and number of children victimized in episodes of child sexual abuse linked to a federated youth serving organization.

BACKGROUND: Qualitative research on child sexual abuse (CSA) in youth serving organizations (YSOs) indicates that powerful, high-status persons are better able to abuse children, because they have a superior capacity to obtain the acquiescence and overcome the resistance of children to their abusive advances, evade detection of their abusive behavior, and escape accountability for their detected abuse. OBJECTIVE: We conduct quantitative empirical analyses designed to confirm the presumption that powerful, high-status persons are better able to abuse children in YSOs. SETTING: We analyzed 85 episodes of CSA linked to Boys and Girls Clubs (BGCs) affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, identified by a Hearst Connecticut reporting team. METHOD: We conduct multivariate analyses that estimate the relationship between two sources of perpetrators' power and status (occupancy of a leadership position in their BGC and affiliations with other YSOs in their local BGC's community) and two public health consequences of the CSA they perpetrated (the duration of their abuse and the number of children they abused), controlling for a battery of possible confounds. RESULTS: Episodes of abuse perpetrated by persons who were leaders of their local BGCs victimized 1.9 more club-affiliated children than those that were perpetrated by lower-level staffers, while episodes of abuse perpetrated by persons affiliated with other YSOs in their local BGC's community on average were 3.3 years longer and victimized 1.8 more club-affiliated children than those that were perpetrated by persons not affiliated with other YSOs. CONCLUSION: YSO child safety measures, which currently focus on lower-level staffers' potential to abuse children, should be augmented to increase their focus on YSO leaders' and prominent community members' abusive potential.

Cyberbullying victimisation and its association with depression, anxiety and stress among female adolescents in Deumai Municipality, Nepal: a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of cyberbullying and its association with depression, anxiety and stress among female adolescents attending higher secondary schools in Deumai Municipality, Nepal. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study. SETTING: The survey was conducted at all available higher secondary schools of Deumai Municipality, Ilam District, Nepal, from February to April 2022. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 501 female adolescents enrolled in grades 11 and 12 were included in the study. All eligible participants available on the day of data collection were approached until the calculated sample size was reached. OUTCOME MEASURES: The study assessed the prevalence of cyberbullying victimisation, along with the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and their associated factors. The level of psychological distress was explored using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. Pearson's χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied to determine the association between psychological distress and related variables, including cyberbullying victimisation, at 95% CI and 5% level of significance. RESULTS: Nearly a third (32.5%) of the female adolescents included in the study had experienced cyberbullying. The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 46.5%, 52.7% and 34.9%, respectively. Cyberbullying victims were observed to have increased odds of experiencing depression (adjusted OR (aOR): 1.64, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.42), anxiety (aOR: 2.49, 95% CI 1.67 to 3.70) and stress (aOR: 2.59, 95% CI 1.74 to 3.86) in comparison with non-victims. CONCLUSION: Cyberbullying victims are significantly more likely to experience psychological distress. There is an urgent need to strengthen cybersecurity and to have strong legislative measures to address cyberbullying in order to safeguard the mental health of adolescents in the digital age.

Emotion regulation reduces victim blaming of vulnerable sex trafficking survivors.

OBJECTIVE: This research applied emotion regulation to negative emotions felt toward a sex trafficking victim so that judgments were made to offer her services rather than to favor her arrest for prostitution. HYPOTHESES: We predicted that participants would favor police not arresting a trafficking survivor for prostitution when she was vulnerable (Hypothesis 1) or she showed no sex work history (Hypothesis 2). We predicted a moderated mediation model (Hypothesis 3), in which emotion regulation training to reduce feelings of contempt, anger, and disgust (CAD) toward the survivor interacted with vulnerability and prior sex work such that the effects of the latter two manipulations were the strongest in the successful emotion regulation conditions (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and cognitive reappraisal with motivation), with CAD emotions mediating those relationships. METHOD: Participants (N = 421, 54% women, Mage = 42.63 years, 75% White) read a modified version of a sex trafficking case and decided whether the police should arrest the survivor for prostitution. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of 16 conditions in a 4 (emotion regulation: control vs. cognitive reappraisal vs. motivation vs. cognitive reappraisal plus motivation) × 2 (vulnerability: vulnerable background vs. nonvulnerable background) × 2 (prior prostitution history: engaged in prostitution before the trafficking incident vs. not engaged in prostitution before the incident) factorial design. RESULTS: Participants with cognitive reappraisal training, but not controls, who read about a vulnerable survivor were less likely to favor arrest. Moreover, those who trained with cognitive reappraisal plus motivation to decrease their CAD emotions, compared with the controls, showed weaker CAD feelings toward the vulnerable survivor, which in turn predicted a lower probability of favoring arrest. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing CAD emotions through emotion regulation supported the impact of emotions on culpability judgments and showed how emotion regulation can be used to support a victim-centered approach to fighting sex trafficking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Researchers' experience in data collection with families of femicide victims.

OBJECTIVES: to describe researchers' experience in collecting data from families of femicide victims. METHODS: this descriptive, qualitative study took the form of an experience report and was conducted in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. It involved documentary consultation, training researchers, scheduling and conducting interviews, and using a field diary to record the researchers' perceptions and experiences. RESULTS: the descriptions and photographs of the crime scene were both distressing and impactful for the researchers. The mementos of the victims (including clothing, objects, and childhood photos) shown by their families were deeply moving. Identifying with these experiences facilitated listening to the stories told by the relatives. It was essential to maintain a non-judgmental attitude, acknowledge the loss, provide support for the suffering, and demonstrate a willingness to help. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the experience encompassed both theoretical and methodological aspects that were planned and executed in data collection, fostering the development of skills and sensitivity towards the cases. Beyond knowledge and preparation, researchers are expected to exhibit ethical conduct and empathetic capacity.

Association of child maltreatment and school bullying among Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of peer relationships.

BACKGROUND: School bullying, a serious problem for the physical and mental health of adolescents, is presently a significant issue in China. It is essential to recognize and comprehend potential risk factors and establish efficient preventive strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between childhood maltreatment and school bullying in adolescents and to assess the mediating role of peer relationships. METHODS: Between March and April 2024, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2119 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years in Guangdong Province, China. Self-report questionnaires were employed to collect data on childhood maltreatment, school bullying, and peer relationships. Subgroup analyses and mediating effects modeling were employed to analyze the data. RESULTS: The results indicated that adolescents who had experienced maltreatment were more at risk of bullying victimization (OR: 2.92, 95% CI: 2.34-3.64, P < 0.001), bullying perpetration (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.99-4.05, P < 0.001), and bully-victimization (OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.95-4.41, P < 0.001), compared to adolescents who have not. Sexual abuse showed the most significant connection with all forms of bullying. The mediating effect of peer relationships was found to mediate the association between child maltreatment and bullying behaviour. The results indicated that worse peer relationships may exacerbate the adverse effects of maltreatment experiences and increase the risk of adolescents becoming bullies, either perpetrators or victims of bullying. CONCLUSIONS: Child maltreatment has been identified as one of the most significant influences on bullying behaviour in adolescents. The quality of peer relationships has been demonstrated to play an important role in preventing and reducing the occurrence of bullying. The results underscore the crucial role of early intervention in cases of child maltreatment and the fostering of positive peer relationships in schools.

Internet-Based Prevention of Re-Victimization for Youth with Care Experience (EMPOWER-YOUTH): Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Traumatic experiences and maltreatment are highly prevalent among adolescents in foster or institutional care and have severe long-term effects on mental health. Childhood maltreatment increases the risk of revictimization. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the internet-based prevention program EMPOWER YOUTH in reducing victimization experiences among youth with care experience. A total of 163 youth, that is, adolescents in foster or institutional care, adopted adolescents, or young care leavers aged 14 to 21 years (Mage = 17.68 years; SD = 2.11) were randomized to the six-module guided program or a wait-list control group. The primary endpoint was the decrease in victimization experiences at an 18-week follow-up. Secondary endpoints included risk perception, aggressive tendencies, empathy, prosocial behavior, depressiveness, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and loneliness. About half of the youth exhibited increased psychopathology. No significant interaction between time-point and group was found for victimization measures, though both groups saw a significant reduction over time (p = 0.012, ηp2 = 0.06; p = 0.017, ηp2 = 0.06). The intervention group showed a significant increase in perception of thrill-seeking and rebellious risks (p = 0.036, ηp2 = 0.04; p = 0.026, ηp2 = 0.05). While EMPOWER YOUTH effectively increased risk perception of thrill-seeking and rebellious behaviors, it should be considered an add-on to more intensive interventions for common mental health disorders in this vulnerable group, rather than a stand-alone online program.

A survey on the reasons why victims of stalking did not exhibit help-seeking behavior: a text-mining analysis.

BACKGROUND: Stalking can escalate into violent acts such as threatening and inflicting physical harm, posing a serious threat to personal safety. To prevent exacerbating stalking victimization, victims must seek help and report incidents to the police or relevant authorities. However, victims, in general, underreport these incidents to public institutions. Moreover, there is insufficient understanding of why victims of stalking, especially men, refrain from seeking help. Therefore, this study used text mining to explore the reasons victims of stalking in Japan do not seek help while considering the severity of victimization and analyzing data separately for men and women. METHODS: Among 908 Japanese individuals who reported experiencing repeated stalking behavior from a former intimate partner in the past five years, 253 men and 321 women who did not consult public authorities were included in this study. Participants provided their experiences of being stalked by former romantic partners and were classified into stalking-only, threatened, and physical aggression victim groups based on their self-reported experiences in an online survey. Reasons for not seeking help were collected through open-ended questions and analyzed using text mining. RESULTS: A co-occurrence network analysis revealed that among men in the threatened victim group, the reason for not seeking help was the belief that their complaints would not be taken seriously. The physical aggression victim group did not seek help due to the perception that a female perpetrator does not pose a danger. Among women in the physical aggression victim group, concerns about provoking the perpetrator or worsening the situation by seeking help, as well as feelings of embarrassment, were reasons for not seeking assistance. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of gender stereotype-related reasons among male victims was a valuable insight that could only be obtained through comparison with female victims. However, the study was limited to addressing the individual characteristics of the cases, thus providing only hypothetical insights into general trends. In future research, it will be necessary to generate hypotheses from the findings of this study and accumulate hypothesis-testing research to develop effective strategies for promoting help-seeking behavior among stalking victims.

Collisions and Perceptions of Cyberbullying: Comparison of Intergenerational Experiences.

With regard to negative consequences, cyberbullying is recognized as one of the most traumatic types of cyber aggression. The aim is to study the specific features of adolescents and youth's cyberbullying experience in the role of an aggressor, victim or bystander, as well as awareness on the part of parents of adolescents. A total of 3395 adolescents, youth and parents filled out specially designed questionnaires. Older adolescents turned out to be at higher risk of cyberbullying. In two-thirds of cases, cyberbullying is related to real-life incidents. Aggressors are motivated by domination and entertainment, primarily employing strategies of social exclusion, harassment and denigration. As victims of cyberbullying, younger adolescents turn to their parents and friends for social support, whereas older adolescents and young adults are more likely turn to their peers. In the role of a bystander, almost half of younger adolescents and about a third of older adolescents and young adults choose the prosocial strategy of protecting a victim. The parents often underestimate the experience of encountering cyberbullying or find it difficult to assess such experience. The identified risk groups and strategies and the lack of parents' awareness are important to take into account when drawing up cyberbullying prevention programs.

Medico-legal recommendations to fight the silent war of femicide in Europe.

Femicide is a global phenomenon; yet there is no commonly accepted understanding of what counts as femicide. Different disciplines and approaches offer different definitions. Defining the term femicide is not only a purely lexical matter but also involves the aspect of data collection. Owing to the lack of a standardized definition, data collected by countries under this label are not comparable and cannot be used for global or regional estimates to provide an indication of the scale of this phenomenon. One tool to fight this silent war against women is certainly medical-legal diagnosis, with everything that the body of a victim of femicide can reveal. Autopsies are crucial; they can help differentiate between female homicide and femicide and the search for a formal, agreed-upon definition of femicide may be derived precisely from forensic pathology research and necropsy evidence. The autopsies performed and studies written on femicide cases are of extraordinary importance because they make it easy to identify which anatomical districts are most affected, which weapons are most frequently used, and where the bodies of victims of femicide are most often found. To curb this phenomenon, it is essential to act on several levels, starting with the national one. It is necessary to develop a data collection and processing system involving both law enforcement and forensic centers. It is also emphasized the relevance of creating a universal database that can be easily consulted, along the lines of the one that already exists in the United States.