A systematic review of the prevalence of cyberbullying in Canada

Abstract

This systematic review of research on the self-reported prevalence of cyberbullying (victimization and perpetration) in Canadian children and youth includes 45 studies from structured English and French searches of 8 scholarly databases plus Google Scholar and Web. Two researchers performed full-text reviews of English-language studies to abstract data and assess eligibility and risk of bias. Summary prevalence estimates were avoided on account of heterogeneity in included studies, regional variation in prevalence, and ageing or biased data. Prevalence estimates are increased by well-elaborated definitions and multiple-item measures, and inflated by the use of non-representative samples, conflation of bullying with aggression, and long reference periods. Findings suggest that cyberbullying is less prevalent than all forms of offline bullying and occurs frequently in few youth. Sex differences are small, but point to higher female victimization. Prevalence seems to increase with age, peaking around grade 9 before stabilizing or decreasing in high school.