Adolescent online cyberbullying in Greece: the impact of parental online security practices, bonding, and online impulsiveness.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of new technological media worldwide has had a number of unfortunate side effects for some adolescents, including cases of bullying others through the new media (cyberbullying) and over-involvement to the point of addiction. We examine the epidemiology of cyberbullying in a Greek setting, compare it with earlier data, determine the impact of any related psychosocial factors, and propose measures to combat the phenomenon. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of the entire adolescent high-school student population of the island of Kos examined the relationship between their experiences of Internet cyberbullying and respective parental characteristics, including aspects of psychological bonding and online security measures. The sample consisted of 2017 students (51.8% boys, 48.2% girls). Comparisons are made with results obtained from an earlier survey in the same setting, 2 years earlier. RESULTS: There was a significant rise in reported experiences of Internet cyberbullying over the 2-year period. Security practices exercised by parents had a protective role with regards to whether a child had been cyberbullied, yet failed to prevent the perpetration of online victimization. A regression model indicated that impulsive use of the Internet and related online activities were predictive of whether an adolescent victimized others online. CONCLUSION: Cyberbullying frequency with regards to both victims and victimizers was high and associated with online impulsiveness, pointing to the possible existence of some commonalities. Further research is necessary to ascertain common underlying psychological factors and neurobiology.

Adolescent online gambling: the impact of parental practices and correlates with online activities.

We present results from a cross-sectional study of the entire adolescent student population aged 12-19 of the island of Kos and their parents, on the relationship between their Internet gambling and respective parental practices, including aspects of psychological bonding and online security measures. The sample consisted of 2,017 students (51.8% boys, 48.2% girls). Our results indicate that gender, parenting practices as perceived by the adolescents and distinct patterns of adolescent Internet activities are among the best predictor variables for Internet gambling. Security practices exercised by the parents failed to make an impact on the extent of Internet gambling, demonstrating the need for specific measures to tackle this phenomenon since the provision of simple education on the dangers of the Internet is not sufficient to this regard.

Influence of parental attitudes towards Internet use on the employment of online safety measures at home.

In this paper we present the results of a cross-sectional study of the entire adolescent student population aged 12-18 of the island of Kos and their parents, on Internet safety-related practices and attitudes towards the Internet. Total sample was 2017 students and 1214 parent responders. Research material included extended demographics and an Internet security questionnaire, the Internet Attitudes Scale (IAS) for parents and the Adolescent Computer Addiction Test (ACAT) for children and both parents. Both parents thus provided their views on their children's computer use and an estimate for their degree of computer addiction which was tested against their child's self-report. Results indicated that fathers and mothers who had negative views of the Internet, tended to encourage less their children to engage in online activities and worried more for the possibility that their child is addicted to computer use; their worries weren't correlated with their children's results. Parental views on the Internet had no effect on the level of security precautions they employed at home. Those parents who reported a low level of security knowledge and were unsure as to what their children were doing online, tended to consider their children more likely to be addicted to computer use; those views were confirmed by their children' self-reported results.

Evolution of Internet addiction in Greek adolescent students over a two-year period: the impact of parental bonding.

We present results from a cross-sectional study of the entire adolescent student population aged 12-18 of the island of Kos and their parents, on Internet abuse, parental bonding and parental online security practices. We also compared the level of over involvement with personal computers of the adolescents to the respective estimates of their parents. Our results indicate that Internet addiction is increased in this population where no preventive attempts were made to combat the phenomenon from the initial survey, 2 years ago. This increase is parallel to an increase in Internet availability. The best predictor variables for Internet and computer addiction were parental bonding variables and not parental security practices. Parents tend to underestimate the level of computer involvement when compared to their own children estimates. Parental safety measures on Internet browsing have only a small preventive role and cannot protect adolescents from Internet addiction. The three online activities most associated with Internet addiction were watching online pornography, online gambling and online gaming.

Internet addiction as an important predictor in early detection of adolescent drug use experience-implications for research and practice.

We present results from a cross-sectional study of the entire adolescent student population aged 14 to 18 years of the island of Kos, on the correlates between personality, illicit chemical substance use, and Internet abuse. Results demonstrate that adolescents who have used illicit substances and are abusing the Internet as well appear to share some common personality characteristics, namely those that are classified under the label of "psychoticism" in the Eysenck's personality model. An increase in the severity of pathological Internet use has been linked to increased chances of having used an illicit substance. Taking into account any common personality attributes, Internet addiction can still be useful as a predictor variable for substance use experiences. Future research should attempt to verify any biological common factors between chemical substances use and Internet abuse. Targeting the adolescent population that engages in increased Internet use may be of benefit for drug abuse prevention programs.

Internet addiction in the island of Hippocrates: the associations between internet abuse and adolescent off-line behaviours.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the phenomenon of internet addiction and concurrent social (off-line) behaviours of an adolescent population a cross-sectional survey of the entire adolescent student population (N = 1270, aged 14-18) of the island of Kos in Greece was conducted. METHOD: Completion by the survey participants of a demographic questionnaire, the 8-question YDQ (Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction) and the 20-question IAT (Internet Addiction Test), followed by comparative analysis between and within usage groups. RESULTS: Results demonstrate that 7.2% of male and 5.1% of female internet users present addictive behaviours while using the internet. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-social, aggressive behaviours were significantly correlated with an increase to the pattern of abusive internet use in both sexes. Boys and girls had distinct profiles of off-line and online preferences. Boys tended to favour interest-driven online activities as their levels of addictive behaviour increased while girls favoured communication-driven online activities.