Health Reports, September 2023

Released: 2023-09-20

Risk of cybervictimization is higher among certain vulnerable groups of youth

Transgender and non-binary adolescents, females attracted to the same gender and adolescents living with chronic conditions were particularly likely to have experienced cybervictimization compared with their peers.

The article "Cybervictimization and mental health among Canadian youth," released today in Health Reports, used the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth to examine cybervictimization and mental health indicators among diverse subpopulations of youth. The article revealed that more frequent use of digital media was associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing cybervictimization.

With the rise in popularity of smart devices and social media among youth, cybervictimization has emerged as a potentially serious form of victimization associated with negative mental health.

Cybervictimization associated with multiple indicators of poor mental health

Adolescents who had experienced cybervictimization were more likely to report poorer mental health, eating disorder symptoms, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt; their parents were more likely to report that they showed symptoms of anxiety or depression. These associations were similar for all youth regardless of their sociodemographic characteristics.

These results suggest that while certain groups of youth seem to be at higher risk of experiencing cybervictimization, the experience of cybervictimization is associated with similar poor mental health indicators for all youth. Interventions that aim to reduce the experience of cybervictimization among Canadian youth may contribute to improving adolescent mental health.

Products

The article "Cybervictimization and mental health among Canadian youth" is now available in the September 2023 online issue of Health Reports, Vol. 34, No. 9 (Catalogue number82-003-X).

This issue of Health Reports also contains the article "Lifetime probability of developing cancer and dying from cancer in Canada, 1997 to 2020."

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).