Addressing Cyberbullying, Suicidality, Suicide, and Psychological Distress in Youth Populations: Clinical Implications for Mental Health Counselors Professional Resource Article
Abstract Understanding the impact of social media and technology on child and adolescent mental health is paramount in improving clinical approaches and overall behavioral outcomes. The increase in electronic communication modalities such as Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Snapchat by youth in America has led to a revision of therapeutic practices to address the current patient's needs. A poll by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) found that in 30 countries, one-third of students reported that being cyberbullied was associated with higher-income families than lower-income families (UNICEF, 2019). According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior System Surveillance (YRBSS), 15.7% of students have been victims of cyberbullying in the previous year in the United States (Stopbullying.gov, 2021). International communities have explored the impact of cyberbullying on child and adolescent populations; however, limited research on clinical practice in the United States has been conducted (Byers, Mishna, and Solo, 2019). Cyberbullied students have higher rates of selfharm, suicidality, suicide, substance abuse, and gender differences than in-person bullying. The access and increase of usage of electronic devices by youth have led to higher exposure rates and susceptibility/development of mental health illnesses. By mental health counselors implementing a holistic, systemic approach, mindfulness-based therapies, updating clinical intake questionnaires, and identifying at-risk populations through school belonging programs, youth can process their phenomenological experiences. This article discusses the challenges and implications of cyberbullying on adolescent and youth populations and the future of counseling research and clinical practices.
Keywords: Clinical practice, cyberbullying, suicide, suicidality, social media Introduction Cyberbullying is using electronic devices where content can be shared online, SMS, forums, chatrooms, or social media and viewed by others to communicate mean-spirited messages to intimidate, harass, shame, or spread false information about another person (Stopbullying.gov, 2021). Pew research center reported that 81% of adolescents use social media (Memon, Shive, Mohite, Jain, 2018). During the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020, there was a notable increase in suicide attempts by 50% in female populations and a 4% increase in male populations for ages 12-17 compared to the 2019 statistics (Smith-Schoenwalder, 2021). Based on currently limited data collected from the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers found that the number of students who experienced online bullying decreased due to online learning; the rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels as children and adolescents return to in-person learning (Martinez and Temkin, 2021)—as such, addressing the challenges currently impacting this vulnerable population is imperative. Cyberbullying victims reported higher risk-taking behaviors of self-harm, substance use, and sexting (Long and Dowdell, 2021). Victims are more likely to seek out online relationships to validate and accept their behaviors through watching videos online and chatting online with others to gain acceptance. At the same time, they may find acceptance for self-destructive behaviors or become subjected to online abuse (Long and Dowdell, 2021, Memon et al., 2018). For these reasons, it is essential to understand the underlying issues to clinical challenges when counseling cyber victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. The higher use of online and social FMHCA.org | InSession- July 2022 | 47
