The Family Context in Cybervictimization: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

• Published in: Trauma, Violence, & Abuse Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 2143 - 2157
• Main Authors: Lozano-Blasco, Raquel, Barreiro-Collazo, Alejandra, Romero-Gonzalez, Borja, Soto-Sanchez, Alberto
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.07.2024; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescents; Age; Bullying; Childrearing practices; Communication; Context; Cyberbullying; Cyberbullying - psychology; Cyberbullying - statistics & numerical data; Emotions; Families & family life; Family - psychology; Family Relations - psychology; Female; Humans; Information technology; Intervention; Male; Meta-analysis; Personality; Random effects; Social Media; Sociocultural factors; Systematic review; Teenagers; Variables; Victimization; cyberaggression; Internet and abuse; community violence; family issues and mediators; youth violence; bullying
• ISSN: 1524-8380; 1552-8324
• DOI: 10.1177/15248380231207894

The use of Information and Communication Technologies is clearly widespread among adolescents from a young age. Although it poses a significant contribution at the academic, social, and emotional levels, it can also involve a set of important risks, including cyberbullying and, therefore, cybervictimization. Previous studies have pointed out the importance of family context since parental control and family communication emerge as contributors to this phenomenon. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of family communication on cybervictims and the moderating role of different sociodemographic variables (age, gender, nationality, and culture), as well as social, emotional, and personality variables. In this context, a meta-analysis was performed with a random effects model, using a total meta-sample of 29,093 adolescents (mean age: 14.50 years) distributed in k = 20 samples belonging to nine studies on cybervictimization published in English in Q1 journals between 2015 and 2020. The results showed that family offensive communication is related to cybervictimization. This could be because the affected individuals often use social media to compensate for the deficiencies they perceive within their families, as well as to obtain support, which increases their time spent on the Internet and their exposure to this phenomenon. These findings highlight the need for family and community interventions, not only school-based or individual interventions.