Cyberbullying Victimisation and Psychological Well-being: A Cross-sectional Study among Medical Students in Western India

Introduction: Cyberbullying is the voluntary and repetitious abuse that is inflicted through computers/mobile phones/other electronic devices, using language that can defame, threaten, harass, bully, exclude, discriminate, demean, humiliate, stalk, disclose personal information or contain offensive, vulgar comments. Within the last decade, cyber bullying has received a high level of attention from researchers worldwide. The reason is the continuous advancements of technological tools and their link with mental health issues.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of cyber bullying victimisation and its effect on the psychological well-being of medical students.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 502 medical students studying at Medical College Baroda, Gujarat in western India from January 2022 to June 2022. Medical students were assessed for cyberbullying victimisation using Cyber-Victimisation Scale (CYBVICS). The impact of cyberbullying on psychological well-being was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) for screening of depression and anxiety, respectively. Data were analysed with epi info. Qualitative variables like socio-demographics and clinical parameters were summarised in frequency and percentages. The Chi-square test was applied to evaluate the association between categorical variables. The p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant.

Results: Among 502 medical students, 71 (14.14%) were victims of mild cyberbullying, whereas 90 (17.93%) and 103 (20.52%) had experienced moderate and severe cyberbullying victimisation, respectively. Among all participants, 20 (4%) (Chi-square=39.329, p=<0.0001) and 16 (3.19%) (Chi-square=21.686, p=<0.0001) screened positive for depression and anxiety, respectively.

Conclusion: The cyberbullying victimisation was much more prevalent among medical students and is having a strong negative impact on the psychological well-being of students, causing significant depressive and anxiety symptoms. The severity of impact was increasing with the increasing severity of cyberbullying victimisation. Such studies will help healthcare professionals and institutional interventions to protect those likely to fall victim of cyberbullying.