Cyberbullying is deliberate, aggressive activity carried out through digital means. Cybervictimisation in adolescence may be related to negative psychosocial variables such as loneliness and depressive mood. The purpose of the present study, the first of its kind in Israel, was to examine the association between adolescent cybervictimisation and two socio-emotional variables: loneliness and depressive mood. The sample consisted of 242 Israeli adolescents, aged 13–16 years, who completed questionnaires regarding Internet use, cyberbullying, traditional bullying, loneliness and depressive mood. In total, 16.5% of the participants reported being cybervictims and 32.5% reported knowing someone who was cybervictimised. The results revealed a relationship between cybervictimisation and loneliness (social, emotional and general) as well as depressive mood. A logistic hierarchical regression found that loneliness, gender and depressive mood each explained some variance in cybervictimisation in adolescents. As an anchor for comparison, and in order to shed light on the findings, results are presented in comparison to traditional bullying. The results make a contribution to national and international cyberbullying research and broaden the knowledge about potential risk factors for cybervictimisation.

The present study explored bystanders’ behavior in cyberbullying (CB) episodes among children and youth, focusing on active and passive behavior patterns. The study examined prevalence and characteristics of bystanders’ behavior following CB episodes, and their active–passive intervention patterns in relation to personal (age, gender) and socio-emotional (self-efficacy, social support, sense of loneliness) factors. Of the 1,094 participants (ages 9-18), 497 (46.4%) reported they were bystanders to CB episodes. Of the bystanders, 55.4% were identified as having a passive pattern of behavior—they did not provide any help to cyber-victims, whereas 44.6% were identified as having an active pattern—helping the cyber-victim. In line with the “bystanders’ effect,” only 35.6% of the bystanders offered direct help to cyber-victims after witnessing CB. When studying the personal–socio-emotional differences between active and passive bystanders, it was found that the “active bystanders” are more often girls, older, have more social support from significant others, and have lower levels of emotional loneliness than bystanders in the passive group. Differences within the passive and active patterns were studied as well. A logistic regression revealed the unique contribution of each predictor to the probability of being an active bystander. It was found that gender and age predicted the probability of being an active bystander: Girls are more likely than boys, and older bystanders are more likely than younger ones, to choose an active pattern and provide help to cyber-victims. In addition, implications for CB prevention and intervention involvement programs to encourage bystanders to help cyber-victims are discussed.

The authors examined cyberbullying victimization in the context of issues of key importance to youth: body esteem, social support, and social self-efficacy. Research has found that traditional peer-bullying victimization is significantly correlated with low body esteem in Western societies, especially pertaining to weight (R. Puhl & J. Luedicke, 2012 Puhl, R. , & Luedicke, J. (2012). Weight-based victimization among adolescents in the school setting: Emotional reactions and coping behaviors. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 41, 27–40. [Google Scholar] ). Studies have also found a relationship among bullying victimization, appearance-related bullying, low body esteem, and psychosocial difficulties among youth (L. E. Park, R. M. Calogero, A.F. Young, & A. Diraddo, 2010 Park, L. E. , Calogero, R. M. , Young, A. F. , & Diraddo, A. (2010). Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity predicts Body Dysmorphic Disorder symptoms and cosmetic surgery acceptance. Journal Of Social & Clinical Psychology, 29, 489–509. [Google Scholar] ). However, the emergence of cyberbullying, characterized by its own special features (P. K. Smith et al., 2008 Smith, P. K. , Mahdavi, J. , Carvalho, M. , Fisher, S. , Russell, S. , & Tippett, N. (2008). Cyberbullying: Its nature and impact in secondary school pupils. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 376–385. [Google Scholar] ), has raised a salient need to explore the relationship between cyber victimization and body esteem, no less important with social framework, because both are key components in adolescents' lives that may be associated with cyberbullying victimization. The authors examined these relationships among 204 Israeli adolescents 14–16 years old. The results indicate a noteworthy prevalence (45%) of cyber victims. Cyber victimization is significantly correlated with low body esteem and low social support and social self-efficacy. Low body esteem and low social support predicted the probability of being a cyber victim. The results extend the knowledge about potential personal and social risk factors for cyber victimization during adolescence. Implications for specific intervention programs are discussed.

The current study examined whether perceived social support mediated the effects of loneliness and self-efficacy on well-being among students with or without a learning disability (LD). Participants included 834 elementary, middle, and high school students from Israel (29.6% students with LDs) who completed self-report questionnaires. The results of structural equation modeling indicate that social support mediates the indirect effects of age, gender, loneliness and self-efficacy on well-being. In addition, the results show differences between groups, as non-LD girls noted a higher self-efficacy and well-being than boys, and well-being had indirect effects in the non-LD group than in the LD group. These results indicate students with LDs have a unique social-emotional profile that affects their well-being. The study highlights the importance of enhancing self-efficacy and reducing loneliness in order to increase social support, thus predicting positive well-being. Effective and practical educational programs are needed for both groups across age and gender.

This study examined the relationship between social-environmental influences and body image perception. Specifically, the study explored the perceived body appearance among young and older students attending higher education, and their eating experiences, as related to four main social-environmental circles: family, friends, work colleagues, and media. The present study interviewed 30 students (14 men and 16 women) ages 20–40. The findings show that most of the participants were concerned about their appearance, reported on various eating habits rooted on family tradition. Findings revealed differences among gender and age groups regarding, especially regarding sport and dissatisfaction with their own perceived appearance. Although more women reported on healthy eating habits and doing sport, they reported higher dissatisfaction with their body appearance. It was found that in both groups, family habits and their parents’ remarks about bodies had an ongoing effect and significant influence on their body self-perceptions. Further health promotion should be directed in particular to individuals with a perceived negative body image, in order to enhance positive body self-perception, implementing heathy eating habits and engaging higher commitment to sport.

Studies have showed that being bullied by peers in adolescence is strongly and consistently associated with decreased sense of well-being that may be expressed in emotional, physical and behavioural effects. Yet, there are personal variables that might mediate the relationships between bullying victimization and low levels of well-being. In this study, we have examined the possible moderating effect of resilience and self-concept that were found to be connected to bullying and to well-being among Israeli adolescents. 507 middle school Israeli students, aged 11–16, fulfilled Bullying victimization, well-being, self-concept and resilience questionnaires. A mediation model analysis have revealed that the hypothesized mediation model was accepted in full and both high self-concept and resilience mediates this relationship. Specific directions and recommendation are discussed for further insights into intervention and prevention programmes for adolescents, in order to optimize existing programmes as well as to create an infrastructure for new intervention programs.