Browsing by Author "Laamanen, Pauliina"

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence, forms and consequences of cyberbullying among youth with special needs. Bullying via internet, social networks and cellphones is a rather new and rapidly changing phenomena. Cyberbullying is a serious problem particularly amongst young people, since the social media is more and more popular. According to previous research, cyberbullying is related to stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, low self-esteem and suicidality. On the other hand, internet and social media are very important ways for young people to find friends and communities, and construct their own identities. Youth with special needs might however be at greater risk of cyberbullying involvement, since previous research has shown that this is the case with youth with special needs and traditional bullying. Current study examines the cyberbullying prevalence among youth with special needs. Another goal of the study is to find out how cyberbullying impacts psychical, emotional and other aspects of well-being. In this study, most common disabilities were intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, Asperger’s syndrome or ADHD. Current study was executed using the principles of systematic literature review. Research material consisted of five peer-reviewed studies published in 2009-2017. Articles examine young people with special needs and their experiences about traditional bullying and cyberbullying, as well as consequences of bullying. Results show that young people with special needs and disabilities were at greater risk of cyberbullying involvement when compared their non-disabled peers. Cyberbullying was related to lower self-esteem and increased depression, anxiety and other emotional symptoms. Cyberbullying and traditional bullying were strongly related with each other. Social support reduced the negative effects of cyberbullying.