Cyber-Victimisation: The Association Between Help-Seeking Behaviours and Self-Reported Emotional Symptoms in Australia and Austria

Abstract

Many young people who are bullied do not tell anyone. School staff therefore are often unaware of which students are being victimised and when to provide support or assistance. A critical strategy to overcome this problem is to encourage victimised students to seek help and report this bullying. This study aims to examine the relationship between help-seeking behaviours and self-reported emotional symptoms in young people from Australia (n = 5959; M age = 12.36 years, SD = 1.46 years) and Austria (n = 1530; M age = 12.68 years, SD = .84 years) who reported being victimised (via cyber and traditional bullying). In both countries, students who were cyber-victimised compared to those who were victimised in more traditional methods were less likely to seek help. Girls in both countries were significantly more likely to seek help and endorse more emotional symptoms than boys. No relationship was found between help-seeking and emotional symptoms in students who had been cyber-victimised. These preliminary results have important implications for the types of strategies used to enhance the approachability of school staff and families to provide appropriate help and support for young people who are being bullied.