Cyberbullying and cyber-victimisation among higher secondary school adolescents in an urban city of Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Objective To assess the prevalence and factors associated with cyberbullying and cyber-victimisation among high school adolescents of Pokhara Metropolitan City, Nepal. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Pokhara Metropolitan City, Nepal. Participants We used convenient sampling to enrol 450 adolescents aged 16–19 years from four distinct higher secondary schools in Pokhara Metropolitan City. Outcome measures We administered the Cyberbullying and an Online Aggression Survey to determine the prevalence of cyberbullying and cyber-victimisation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate the ORs and 95% CIs. Data were analysed using STATA V.13. Results The 30-day prevalence of cyberbullying and cyber-victimisation was 14.4% and 19.8%, and the over-the-lifetime prevalence was 24.2% and 42.2%, respectively. Posting mean or hurtful comments online was the most common form of both cyberbullying and cyber-victimisation. Compared with females, males were more likely to be involved in cyberbullying (adjusted OR (AOR)=13.52; 95% CI: 6.04 to 30.25; p value <0.001) and cyber-victimised (AOR=2.22; 95% CI: 1.33 to 3.73; p value <0.05). Using the internet almost every day was associated with cyberbullying (AOR=9.44; 95% CI: 1.17 to 75.79; p value <0.05) and cyber-victimisation (AOR=4.96; 95% CI: 1.06 to 23.18; p value <0.05). Students from urban place of residence were associated with both cyberbullying (AOR=2.45; 95% CI: 1.23 to 4.88; p value <0.05) and cyber-victimisation (AOR=1.77; 95% CI: 1.02 to 3.05; p value <0.05). Conclusion The study recommends the implementation of cyber-safety educational programmes, and counselling services including the rational use of internet and periodic screening for cyberbullying in educational institutions. The enforcement of strong anti-bullying policies and regulations could be helpful to combat the health-related consequences of cyberbullying.