The article, “Cyberbullying and Cyberbullicide Ideation Among Jordanian College Students,” investigates the psychology behind how cyberbullying and suicidal ideation are linked within university populations. The core research question here is: How do cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and low self-control individually and collectively impact a student’s likelihood of experiencing cyberbullicide ideation? The overall hypothesis in this article is that all three variables are related to an increase in risk of ideation.
The study relates strongly to many social science principles. For this article review, Relativism, Empiricism, and Determinism will be discussed. This article employs Relativism by demonstrating how systems are interconnected. Changes within an online social environment (cyberbullying) cause changes to an individual’s internal psyche (ideation). This study also employs Empiricism by relying on quantitative data observed from student surveys. The study also uses Determinism, which can be seen in the fact that the authors seek to find a deterministic link between cyberbullying and ideation, which may allow for the prediction of risk.
The authors in this article use a quantitative research method, specifically a survey, to collect self-reported data from college students. The analysis used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to measure the strength and direction of the relationships. The variables here are clearly defined with cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and low self-control acting as independent variables that influence the dependent variable of cyberbullicide ideation.
This topic directly aligns with many core concepts from the course. For the purposes of this article review, social cyberspace, human factors, individual motives, and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs will be discussed. This article works entirely within social cyberspace, demonstrating how social dynamics work in the digital world. This article is also a great example of human factors, as the findings can help influence the design of safer online systems and environments in the future. Additionally, a perpetrator’s behavior may stem from individual motives. In this case it would likely be either revenge or recognition. The stress that comes with being a victim of cyberbullying may affect a victim’s security and safety needs in Maslow’s hierarchy.
This study addresses several concerns of marginalized groups. First, it has a focus on students who become victims, a marginalized group based on social power and mental health vulnerability. The article notes that certain demographics of students, such as those with low self-control, may be affected differently. Second, it touches on potential gender disparities (19.7% of females and 20.9% of males were seriously considering suicide). This highlights that there is a need for mental health support addressing the unique emotional and social needs of these marginalized groups.
Overall, the study provides two key societal contributions. First, it provides vital data that will be necessary in developing university policies and mental health services for the Jordanian context. Second, it establishes a link between online behavior and risk of suicide, which contributes to the larger effort to treat cyberbullying as a public health and safety concern rather than a behavioral issue.
https://cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/329/98.