Cyberbullying among culturally, sexuality, and gender diverse young people

Despite being an area of academic exploration for over two decades, cyberbullying remains an evolving phenomenon that requires further investigation. As understanding of the nature, impact, and protective factors for cyberbullying continue to emerge, some key demographics have been excluded from previous research, risking the ecological validity of past literature and preventing an intersectional approach to be used to develop a deeper understanding of cyberbullying. Of particular note are the excluded demographics of LGBTQIA+ and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) young people. In order to gain this deeper understanding of diverse young people’s experience, Study One (N = 19) first explores the ways in which diverse young people use and experience social media, to place their cyberbullying experience in a wider context and to better understand the online environment that these young people operate in. Study Two provides a review of the previous literature on cyberbullying and its association with identity, taking into consideration the wider context in which diverse young people operate and how this may shape the way cyberbullying is defined and its impact measured in these diverse populations. Study Three (N = 19) explores the perspectives and understandings of diverse young people regarding cyberbullying, and compares the current academic perspectives of cyberbullying with the perspectives of diverse youth. Study Four (N = 311) explores the factor of identity centrality in relationship to cyberbullying and psychological distress, and examines how the extent to which a person identifies with their diverse identity influences the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and distress. Finally, Study Five (N = 311) investigates the role of coping self-efficacy in explaining the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and distress in a sample of diverse young people. Together, these studies make important recommendations regarding the measurement of cyberbullying in diverse samples, and highlights the ways in which experiences of cyberbullying can differ between identities.