Ching Mei Lee

Relationships Among Cyberbullying, School Bullying, and Mental Health in Taiwanese Adolescents

BACKGROUND This study examined the relationships among cyberbullying, school bullying, and mental health in adolescents. METHODS In 2010, a total of 2992 10th grade students recruited from 26 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan completed questionnaires. RESULTS More than one third of students had either engaged in cyberbullying or had been the target (cybervictim) of it in the last year. About 18.4% had been cyberbullied (cybervictim); 5.8% had cyberbullied others (cyberbully); 11.2% had both cyberbullied others and been cyberbullied (cyberbully-victim). About 8.2% had been bullied in school (victim); 10.6% had bullied others (bully); and, 5.1% had both bullied others and had been bullied in school (bully-victim). Students with Internet risk behaviors were more likely to be involved in cyberbullying and/or cybervictimization; students who had cyberbullying or victimization experiences also tended to be involved in school bullying/victimization. After controlling for sex, academic performance, and household poverty, cyber/school victims and bully-victims were more likely to have lower self-esteem, and cyber/school victims, bullies and bully-victims were at a greater risk for serious depression. CONCLUSIONS Both cyberbullying and school bullying and/or victimization experiences were independently associated with increased depression.

The relationship between parental mediation and Internet addiction among adolescents, and the association with cyberbullying and depression.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the relationships between parental mediation and Internet addiction, and the connections to cyberbullying, substance use, and depression among adolescents. METHOD The study involved 1808 junior high school students who completed a questionnaire in Taiwan in 2013. RESULTS Multiple logistic regression analysis results showed that adolescents who perceived lower levels of parental attachment were more likely to experience Internet addiction, cyberbullying, smoking, and depression, while adolescents who reported higher levels of parental restrictive mediation were less likely to experience Internet addiction or to engage in cyberbullying. Adolescent Internet addiction was associated with cyberbullying victimization/perpetration, smoking, consumption of alcohol, and depression. CONCLUSION Internet addiction by adolescents was associated with cyberbullying, substance use and depression, while parental restrictive mediation was associated with reductions in adolescent Internet addiction and cyberbullying.

Predictors of the initiation and persistence of Internet addiction among adolescents in Taiwan

PURPOSE The present study examined the psychosocial factors associated with the initiation and persistence of Internet addiction among adolescents in Taiwan. METHODS A total of 2315 students from 26 high schools were assessed in the 10th grade, with follow-up performed in the 11th grade, in Taipei, Taiwan. Self-administered questionnaires were collected in each year to assess the pattern of changes in Internet addiction and psychosocial factors. RESULTS Of the 1602 students without an Internet addiction in the 10th grade, 253 (15.8%) had initiated Internet addiction by grade 11. Multivariate analysis results indicated that greater engagement in online activities (i.e., social network website use, online gaming), depression, and lower school bonding in grade 10 coupled with an increase in online activities, depression, and smoking from grades 10 to 11 predicted the initiation of Internet addiction. Of the 605 students with Internet addiction in the 10th grade, the addiction had persisted for 383 students (63.3%) in grade 11. An increase in the existence of depression and alcohol use from grades 10 to 11 predicted the persistence of Internet addiction. CONCLUSIONS Online activities, depression, and substance use were important predictors of youth initiation and of the persistence of Internet addiction.

Association of thin-ideal media exposure, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors among adolescents in Taiwan

OBJECTIVE The present study examined the relationships between thin-ideal media exposure, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behaviors among adolescents in Taiwan. METHOD A total of 2992 students in the 10th grade were recruited from 26 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan to complete a questionnaire in 2010. RESULTS The results showed that the adolescents were exposed to thin-ideal messages a few times a week. Females had higher levels of thin-ideal media exposure, media pressure to be thin, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behaviors than males. Multivariate logistic regression results indicated that media pressure and thin-deal internalization significantly increased the likelihood of body dissatisfaction, while media pressure and body dissatisfaction contributed to both restrained eating and unhealthy weight control behaviors, when all other variables were controlled for.

The association of media exposure and media literacy with adolescent alcohol and tobacco use

This study examined the relationship of media exposure and media literacy to alcohol and tobacco use among adolescents in Taiwan. A total of 2992 10th-grade students recruited from 26 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan, completed a questionnaire in 2010. The multivariable analysis results indicated that the students with higher alcohol and tobacco media exposure were more likely to use alcohol and tobacco and have intentions to drink and smoke, while students with higher media literacy were less likely to use alcohol and have intentions to drink and smoke.

Relationship between Parental and Adolescent eHealth Literacy and Online Health Information Seeking in Taiwan

This study examined the relationship between parental and adolescent eHealth literacy and its impact on online health information seeking. Data were obtained from 1,869 junior high school students and 1,365 parents in Taiwan in 2013. Multivariate analysis results showed that higher levels of parental Internet skill and eHealth literacy were associated with an increase in parental online health information seeking. Parental eHealth literacy, parental active use Internet mediation, adolescent Internet literacy, and health information literacy were all related to adolescent eHealth literacy. Similarly, adolescent Internet/health information literacy, eHealth literacy, and parental active use Internet mediation, and parental online health information seeking were associated with an increase in adolescent online health information seeking. The incorporation of eHealth literacy courses into parenting programs and school education curricula is crucial to promote the eHealth literacy of parents and adolescents.

Predictors of unwanted exposure to online pornography and online sexual solicitation of youth

This study examined factors associated with the unwanted exposure to online pornography and unwanted online sexual solicitation victimization and perpetration of youth in Taiwan. A total of 2315 students from 26 high schools were assessed in the 10th grade, with follow-up performed in the 11th grade. Self-administered questionnaires were collected. Multivariate analysis results indicated that higher levels of online game use, pornography media exposure, Internet risk behaviors, depression, and cyberbullying experiences predicted online sexual solicitation victimization, while higher levels of Internet chat room use, pornography media exposure, Internet risk behaviors, cyberbullying experiences, and offline sexual harassment predicted online sexual solicitation perpetration.

Online gaming and risks predict cyberbullying perpetration and victimization in adolescents

ObjectivesThe present study examined factors associated with the emergence and cessation of youth cyberbullying and victimization in Taiwan.MethodsA total of 2,315 students from 26 high schools were assessed in the 10th grade, with follow-up performed in the 11th grade. Self-administered questionnaires were collected in 2010 and 2011. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to examine the factors.ResultsMultivariate analysis results indicated that higher levels of risk factors (online game use, exposure to violence in media, internet risk behaviors, cyber/school bullying experiences) in the 10th grade coupled with an increase in risk factors from grades 10 to 11 could be used to predict the emergence of cyberbullying perpetration/victimization. In contrast, lower levels of risk factors in the 10th grade and higher levels of protective factors coupled with a decrease in risk factors predicted the cessation of cyberbullying perpetration/victimization.ConclusionOnline game use, exposure to violence in media, Internet risk behaviors, and cyber/school bullying experiences can be used to predict the emergence and cessation of youth cyberbullying perpetration and victimization.

Using media exposure to predict the initiation and persistence of youth alcohol use in Taiwan

BACKGROUND Youth consumption of alcohol is a major public health problem in Taiwan, yet little research has been conducted to examine the potential influence of exposure to alcohol advertising. The present study examined the prospective influence that exposure to alcohol advertising has on the initiation and persistence of youthful drinking in Taiwan. METHODS A total of 2315 students from 26 high schools in Taipei, Taiwan were assessed in the 10th grade with follow-up conducted in the 11th grade. Self-administered questionnaires were collected in 2010 and 2011 to assess the patterns of change in youth alcohol drinking behaviors, media exposure to alcohol, and risk and protective factors. RESULTS Of the 1712 non-drinking students in the 10th grade, 285 (16.6%) had initiated drinking by the 11th grade. Of the 590 drinkers in the 10th grade, 396 (67.1%) were persistently drinking by the 11th grade. Multivariate analysis results indicated that when other potential confounders were accounted for, greater media exposure to alcohol advertising in the 10th grade was found to be significantly associated with the initiation of alcohol use and when combined with an increase in media exposure from grades 10 to 11, this was significantly associated with the persistence of alcohol use. CONCLUSION Exposure to alcohol advertising in the media was associated with both the initiation and the persistence of alcohol use by youth.

Urban–rural differences in parental Internet mediation and adolescents’ Internet risks in Taiwan

With the development of electronic technology and forms of communication such as the Internet, it has become increasing difficult for parents to identify and mitigate the new risks to which their adolescent children are exposed. In this article, we compare the ways parents and adolescents living in urban areas use the Internet with those of their counterparts who live in rural areas. We based this comparison on data obtained from a survey of Internet use in Taiwan in 2013. The survey included 1079 junior high school students and 688 parents who lived in urban areas and 838 students and 729 parents who lived in rural areas. We found that parents living in rural areas had lower levels of Internet skills and intervened less in their children’s use of the Internet when compared with parents living in urban areas. We also found that, compared with their urban counterparts, adolescents who live in rural areas have lower levels of Internet literacy but a higher frequency of Internet use and they also engage in riskier online behaviours such as online game playing, from which they more often report harmful effects such as the theft of passwords or money. Our multivariate analysis of the data showed that increased levels of adolescents’ online gaming time and lower levels of parental restrictive mediation were associated with higher levels of harm such as the theft of passwords and money stolen online. We also found that lower levels of adolescents’ Internet literacy and lower levels of parental monitoring activity were associated with increases in adolescents’ cyberbullying victimisation. Overall, we found a clear difference between rural and urban parents and adolescents with both rural parents and their children being less experienced and knowledgeable of the risks associated with use of the Internet. Rural children are exposed to more risk and experience more harm.