Dear Colleagues,

As the world becomes more connected through the widespread accessibility of the Internet and electronically-mediated communication, understanding the nature and impacts of electronic forms of contact between youth has become a critical area of research. In particular, the phenomenon of cyberbullying and cyber victimization has become a large concern on an international level. While estimates of the prevalence of cyberbullying vary, approximately 20%–40% of youth report that they have been a victim of cyberbullying.

Numerous behaviors fall into the category of cyberbullying, such as bothering someone, teasing someone, intentionally excluding someone, and sexually harassing someone. Cyberbullying can include interactions in which the victim is directly involved, such as directly insulting someone, sending threatening pictures to someone, or purposefully excluding someone from an online community. Cyberbullying can also involve actions that do not directly involve the victim, such as spreading rumors using technology or assuming a fake identity to deceive someone. Being the victim of cyberbullying, cyber victimization, is related to numerous negative outcomes, including academic problems (e.g., dropping grades, increased absences) and psychosocial problems (e.g., depression, social anxiety, low self-esteem).

An emerging area of research has revealed that many youth who are victims of cyberbullying are also perpetrators. Importantly, the prevalence of youth engaging in both the bully and victim roles is estimated to be higher for cyberbullying than for traditional bullying, thus understanding the reasons for the link between these two roles in the area of cyberbullying is particularly important.

This Special Issue invits papers that focus on mediator and moderator variables (specifically, emotion regulation and coping mechanisim) through which cyber victimization impacts mental health, academic performance, and psychosocial well-being. Furthermore, papers investigating the interplay between cyber victimization and cyber bullying are invited.

Dr. Changiz Mohiyeddini
Guest Editor

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• cyber victimization
• cyber bullying
• mental health
• academic performance
• psychosocial well-being
• emotion regulation
• coping mechanisim