Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia

Michelle Hui Lim Lee; Manveen Kaur; Vinorra Shaker; Anne Yee; Rohana Sham; Ching Sin Siau

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043136

Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 10;20(4):3136. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043136.

Authors

Michelle Hui Lim Lee¹, Manveen Kaur², Vinorra Shaker³, Anne Yee², Rohana Sham⁴, Ching Sin Siau⁵

Affiliations

¹ Hospital Sentosa, Kuching 93250, Malaysia.
² Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
³ School of Psychology, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
⁴ School of Business, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia.
⁵ Centre for Community Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia.

Abstract

This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with cyberbullying and social media addiction. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 medical students from a public university in Kuching, Malaysia. The instruments used in this study included the cyberbullying questionnaire survey, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21-item (DASS-21). The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization was 24.4%, whilst 13.0% reported cyberbullying perpetration over the past six months. Male gender was positively associated with both cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization, whilst social media addiction was positively associated with cybervictimization. Psychological motives such as positive attitudes toward cyberbullying and gaining power were associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Cybervictimization doubled the tendency to depression (aOR 2.50, 95% CI [1.23, 5.08], p = 0.012), anxiety (aOR 2.38, 95% CI [1.29, 4.40], p = 0.006), and stress (aOR 2.85, 95% CI [1.41, 5.77], p = 0.004), whilst social media addiction was associated with a higher tendency to depression (aOR 1.18, 95% CI [1.10, 1.26], p < 0.001), anxiety (aOR 1.15, 95% CI [1.08, 1.22], p < 0.001), and stress (aOR 1.21, 95% CI [1.12, 1.32], p < 0.001). Medical schools in Malaysia need policies and guidelines against cyberbullying.

Keywords: anxiety; cyberbullying; depression; medical students; social media addiction.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anxiety
Bullying*
Crime Victims* / psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Cyberbullying* / psychology
Depression
Female
Humans
Internet Addiction Disorder
Malaysia
Male
Students, Medical*

Grants and funding

This research received funding from the Publication Fund, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Geran Penerbitan; No.: GP-K023687).