• Reka Borka Balas, Lorena Elena Meliț, Daniel Sarkozi, Dana Valentina Ghiga, and Cristina Oana Mărginean.
• Department of Pediatrics, "George Emil Palade" University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology from Târgu Mureș, Târgu Mureș, Romania.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2023 Jun 23; 102 (25): e34051e34051.

AbstractCyberbullying represents a major concern worldwide, especially among teenagers with major negative psychological impact. We performed a prospective online questionnaire-based study on 316 teenagers in order to assess the prevalence of cyberbullying in Romania, evaluate its psychosocial consequences, and examine the factors that may predispose them to bullying. Almost 50% of the responders stated that they have been previously bullied, with females having a higher risk of being harassed (P = .0043). Most of the victims were bullied on Facebook, Instagram, and video games. More than 53% of the victims included in our study benefit from help. We found that subjects who have been cyberbullied had a significantly higher risk of having bullied friends (P < .0001). Also, we identified a significant association between the teenagers' relationship with the parents and the incidence of bullying (P = .002). Domestic violence and the male gender were significant risk factors for committing cyberbullying (P = .0014/0.0020). Cyberbullying had a negative impact also on the harasser, and previous victims of cyberbullying had a significantly higher risk of becoming bullied (P < .0001). Also, we found a significant association between the type of substance and the perpetration of aggression (P < .0001). Further studies should focus on designing effective strategies in order to decrease the incidence of this harmful online act of bullying.Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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