Cyberbullying victimization (CBV) is widely linked to adolescent depression, but most studies collapse depression into a single score. Far less is known about which specific depressive symptoms track with CBV—and whether those patterns differ by gender—especially in Brazilian youth. We surveyed 268 public-school students in southern Brazil (M_age 13.4 years; 50.7% girls) using the Children’s Depression Inventory and the victimization subscale of the Revised Cyberbullying Inventory. Girls reported higher depressive symptoms overall (p < 0.05), although CBV did not differ by gender (p = 0.11). In gender-stratified analyses, CBV among girls was tied to every depression domain (anhedonia, ineffectiveness, interpersonal problems, negative mood, and negative self-esteem) as well as the total score; among boys, CBV was related only to overall depression. When domains were entered together, anhedonia and interpersonal problems uniquely signaled greater odds of any CBV for girls, whereas no single domain stood out for boys (ineffectiveness showed a modest, nonsignificant trend). Taken together, these results suggest that CBV travels with a distinct emotional–interpersonal profile for girls but aligns with general depressive burden for boys. Practically, schools and clinicians should pair universal digital-safety efforts with targeted supports—behavioral activation and peer-skills work for girls, and broad depression screening and stepped care for boys.

Background: The use of electronic cigarettes (ECs) has become a significant public health problem, especially among young people. EC use has been associated with increased nicotine exposure and other toxic substances, increasing the risk of early addiction and health problems. Recently, attention has focused on understanding the interplay between psychosocial stressors, exposure to violence, psychological distress, and an increased propensity to experiment with nicotine. Hence, the aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of EC use in the previous month and its associated factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study based on secondary data analysis of a nationwide survey conducted to monitor risk and protective factors for the health of school-aged adolescents (52.89% males; 55.97% aged up to 15 years old). Specifically, we analyzed data from adolescents aged 13–17 years who answered questions on EC use (n = 36,659). Results: The results show that the prevalence of EC use in this sample was 11.23% (IC95%: 11.23, 11.87). Logistic regression revealed several factors that increased the likelihood of EC use, such as alcohol use by friends, alcohol use in the past month, gender (male), intentional binge drinking, higher mental health symptoms, living in urban areas, experience of abuse at home, report of other drug use, and smoking friends, with the latter exerting a higher influence. Conclusion: Findings show the interplay of peers, family and environmental influences on youth risk behavior. Prevention strategies should therefore include school- and family-based interventions, trauma-informed approaches and anti-marketing campaigns to dispel misconceptions regarding EC.