Being either a “cyberbully” who attacks others via e-mail, text messages, or the Internet or a “cybervictim” target of cyberbullying behavior is associated with psychiatric and psychosomatic problems, report Finnish researchers (Sourander A et al. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67[7]:720-728). The study also found that many cyberbullies were themselves the target of cyberbullying by others and were the most troubled.
In the study, 2438 Finnish youths aged 13 to 16 years were given a questionnaire that asked about cyberbullying and about their family, school environment, and general and psychiatric health. Of the 2215 students with analyzable responses, about 5% were cybervictims (but didn't cyberbully others), about 7% were cyberbullies only, and about 5% were both (cyberbully-victims).