Cyberbullying involvement, parental support, and cannabis use among adolescents

Abstract

Background: Cyberbullying victimization has been associated with cannabis use among adolescents. However, it is unclear if this relationship also holds for cyberbullying perpetrators.

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined the association between cyberbullying involvement and cannabis use among adolescents and tested if parental support was associated with cyberbullying involvement and cannabis use.

Participants and setting: Data from 7229 students aged 11-20 years were obtained from the 2019 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a province-wide survey of middle and high school students across Ontario, Canada.

Methods: Participants self-reported their cannabis use frequency, their involvement in cyberbullying, and their perception of parental support. Cyberbullying involvement was operationalized as an action taking place at least two times. Multivariable logistic regression models were adjusted for age, sex, ethnoracial background, and subjective socioeconomic status.

Results: Overall, 8.6 % of students were cyberbullying victims only, 2 % were cyberbullying perpetrators only, and 2.8 % were both cyberbullying victims and perpetrators. Results showed that experience of cyberbullying victimization only (OR: 2.17; 95 % CI: 1.64-2.88), perpetration only (OR: 2.64; 95 % CI: 1.51-4.63), or both (OR: 3.34; 95 % CI: 2.12-5.28) was associated with greater odds of cannabis use. Results further indicated that higher parental support was associated with lower odds of cannabis use in a dose-response fashion. Higher parental support was also associated with a lower risk of cyberbullying involvement.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that involvement in cyberbullying in any role is associated with greater cannabis use among adolescents and that parental support is associated with less cannabis use and cyberbullying involvement.

Keywords: Cannabis; Cyberbullying; Marijuana; Parental support; Victimization.