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1. Introduction
Bullying is generally regarded as an intentional, repeated, aggressive act that is carried out over time, with a power imbalance between the bully and the victim [1]. Cyberbullying adheres to the same definition but with the use of the internet and/or electronic devices [2]. The anonymity of the bully and their skilled use of technology can cause the power imbalance [3]; while repetition arises because different people can continually view the act over a short period of time [4]. Cyberbullying takes multiple forms, such as flaming, harassment, defamation, denigration, impersonation, outing, exclusion, and cyberstalking [5,6,7].
Bullying (throughout the remainder of the paper, the term “bullying” will be used to cover both traditional and cyber forms unless it is explicitly stated otherwise), whether traditional or cyberbullying [8], has psychological consequences for everyone involved, not just victims [9,10]. Wellbeing is influenced by type, frequency, and duration of bullying [11]. Being a bully is a risk factor for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and substance abuse [12,13], whilst victims report high rates of self-injury and suicidal ideation [8]. Victims can experience long term health risks, continuing into adulthood [14], even forty years after the experience has passed [15]. Cyber victims have also been shown to have low self-esteem, high levels of depressive symptoms [16], and emotional and peer problems [17], whereas cyber bullies have demonstrated conduct problems, hyperactivity, and low pro-social behaviour [17]. Bully/victims are most vulnerable in terms of psychopathology, experiencing some of the associated risks and sharing the characteristics of both perpetrators and victims [13,14,17,18]. The stronger influence of child inherent characteristics makes it likely that rather than being passive victims, they turn to become bullies as well. For example, a child who is bullied by someone stronger may react by bullying someone weaker to regain their status and/or self-esteem [19]. Involvement in traditional and cyber bullying has also been related to the increased use of alcohol and drugs [20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27], which is a relevant risk factor that is associated with suicidal attempts and behaviors [28]. There are thus serious psychological risks for all involved, and the physical health of victims may be compromised due to stress [29].
Because of the above mentioned consequences, preventing bullying can reduce self-harming behaviours [30]. Idsoe et al. [31] argue...