A new study has found an increase in the number of children in Ireland being cyberbullied.
The latest Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey discovered that 18% of children have experienced bullying online. This number has increased from 15% in 2018.
Over 9,000 children between the ages of 10 and 17 took part in the survey across 191 schools nationwide.
The aim of the research, which was carried out shortly after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted in 2022, is to highlight the positive and concerning trends in health behaviours, including topics such as alcohol consumption, dietary behaviour, physical activity and bullying.
When it came to the topic of cyberbullying, 18% of children reported being cyberbullied once or more in the past couple of months. Girls, younger children and children from lower social class groups were found to be more likely to report being cyberbullied.
15% of boys and 21% of girls reported being cyberbullied once or more in the past couple of months.
In terms of cyberbullying others, there was also an increase in the number of children who admitted they took part in online bullying.
9% of children said they took part in cyberbullying others once or more in the past few months. This increased from 8% in 2018.
Boys and children from lower social class groups were more likely to reveal taking part in cyberbullying others.
Overall, 11% of boys and 8% of girls reported taking part in cyberbullying others once or more in the past number of months.
The Department of Health highlighted that there are ‘a number of resources, programmes and initiatives ongoing to support young people’s mental health in schools and to prevent bullying’.
Some of these include, ‘ongoing work of the National Educational Psychological service, the new Digital Strategy for Schools, 2022-2027, the Webwise Internet Safety Programme, the new Oide support service for teachers and school leaders, ongoing development of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curricula at both primary and post-primary levels, and the Cineáltas Action Plan on bullying’.
The HBSC Ireland Study was funded by the Department of Health and carried out by the HBSC Ireland team at the Health Promotion Research Centre, University of Galway.
