An Intersectional Perspective on Cyberbullying: Victimization Experiences Among Marginalized Youth

Abstract

Introduction: The impact of cyberbullying victimization on youth development, encompassing mental health, academic performance, and socioemotional well-being, has been widely documented. Research highlights the heightened vulnerability of sexual and gender minoritized youth, along with other youth from marginalized groups, to cybervictimization. However, there is a gap in understanding how intersecting marginalized social identities affect experiences of cyberbullying. Methods: This study employs an intersectionality framework to examine cybervictimization among youth. The sample consists of 444,224 students in grades 9–12 from the 2017–2019 California Healthy Kids Survey. Using exhaustive chi-square automatic interaction detection (ECHAID), the analysis identifies the prevalence of cybervictimization across multiple intersecting social identities, including sex assigned at birth, gender modality (cisgender 97.6%), sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, grade level, and socioeconomic status. Results: Cybervictimization was reported by 22.7% of youth in the sample. Rates were two to three times higher among youth with multiple marginalized identities. Youth at the intersection of bisexual sexual orientation, transgender gender modality, and racial/ethnic minoritized identities faced a particularly high risk of cybervictimization. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for future research in cyberbullying and youth development. Such research should focus on identifying and understanding the intersectional nature of discrimination and victimization, both in-person and online, to develop evidence-based prevention programs that effectively address the complexities of minoritized identities and discrimination in the digital world.