Sexual minority adolescents are at higher risk for a variety of difficulties, including traditional victimization and depression. Also, cybervictimization has been associated with higher rates of depression. However, little attention has been paid to investigating the relations between sexual orientation, cybervictimization, and depressive symptoms, especially within the developmental stage of late adolescence. In fact, very little cybervictimization research has been conducted within this age group due to an assumption that cyberbullying is a problem only seen in middle school and high school. One aim of the current study was to determine whether sexual minority older adolescents are at greater risk for cybervictimization than their heterosexual counterparts. Another aim was to identify the specific sexual orientation and gender categories that were associated with the highest levels of cybervictimization. The study also was intended to examine whether current cybervictimization predicts depressive symptoms above and beyond other predictors, such as current traditional victimization and perceptions of high school cybervictimization. Another goal was to determine whether current cybervictimization interacts with these variables to predict depressive symptoms. The final aim of the study was to investigate whether the relation between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms differed between sexual minority and heterosexual participants. The findings from this study demonstrate that older sexual minority individuals, particularly those who identify as homosexual, are at increased risk for cybervictimization. Also, current traditional victimization and cybervictimization interacted to predict depressive symptoms. The importance of current cybervictimization also was highlighted by the finding that the highest levels of depression were associated with high levels of current cybervictimization, with or without high levels of high school cybervictimization. Finally, the relation between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms did not differ significantly between sexual minority and heterosexual participants. This study examined pressing questions that were previously unanswered in the literature, and the implications for future research, cyberbullying interventions, and societal awareness are vast. This study should be used as a foundation for further investigation on both cyberbullying in late adolescence and cyberbullying among sexual minority individuals. Also, the findings from this study should be applied to the development of cyberbullying interventions for older adolescents with special consideration given to the applicability to the sexual minority population.

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<p><strong>AIM </strong>People with marginalized sexual orientations experience mental health and substance use problems at a higher rate compared to heterosexuals. Experiences of discrimination have been identified as a significant factor in explaining such disparities, and a growing body of literature has developed seeking to explore the contexts in which discrimination occurs. However, one context that is understudied is the online environment. Based on Meyer’s (2003) Minority Stress Model (MSM), it is postulated that specific proximal group-specific processes mediate the relationship between discrimination and health outcomes, with other social factors providing protective effects. However, research is sparse empirically investigating different mechanisms, consequences, and potential modifying factors for sexual minority young adults experiencing online heterosexist discrimination (OHD). Thus, the current study aims to explore experiences of OHD among young adults. <strong>METHODS </strong>Using the MSM as a guiding framework, the study examined proximal factors of internalized heterosexism, online concealment, and rejection sensitivity as mechanisms underlying the effect of OHD on health outcomes and online social support as a moderating factor. 383 young adults (18-35) with marginalized sexual orientations were recruited from an introductory psychology subject pool, two online crowdsourcing platforms (Prolific, MTurk), and the community. They completed measures of OHD, online social support, online concealment, rejection sensitivity, internalized heterosexism, psychological distress, and substance use. <strong>RESULTS </strong>Path analyses in Mplus revealed that two proximal stressors (rejection sensitivity, sexual orientation concealment) were positively related to psychological distress as a result of OHD. Sexual orientation concealment was associated with increased risk for cannabis use due to OHD. Online social support from LGBTQ+ peers did not buffer these relationships. <strong>CONCLUSION </strong>The MSM is a viable guiding framework in exploring OHD. Rejection sensitivity and online sexual orientation concealment are important constructs to consider for future research and may be ideal treatment targets for individuals experiencing psychological distress or engaging in cannabis use due to OHD.</p>

Bullying, in its many different face-to-face and cyber manifestations, profoundly impacts involved youth, particularly those with special education needs. Schools have typically focused on policing the bullies, while teaching victims of bullying effective reactive responses. The objective of this study was to identify those students at greatest risk, the factors placing them at risk, and to understand the source of their consequently aggressive social behaviours and communication. Understanding root causes thereby enables schools to shift toward proactively preventing bullying behaviours. Evidence suggests that adolescents with Emotional and Behavioural Disorders (EBD) are overrepresented in the face-to-face bullying dynamic. Through a social-ecological lens, the current study compares bullying involvement among typically developing adolescents (n = 134) with EBD adolescents (n = 30), and considers how within-person characteristics of adolescents with EBD are influenced by and interact with bi-directional microsystem (i.e. family, friends, teachers, school) and macrosystem (i.e. social and educational patterns of programming) factors to increase or decrease face-to-face- and cyber-bullying involvement. As hypothesized, adolescents with EBD were significantly more involved in both face-to-face- and cyber-bullying and –victimization. Predictive factors were uniquely identified for on- and off-line bullying and victimization. The current findings demonstrate a need to approach bullying prevention proactively by aiming resources at the source of social aggression. / Graduate

De nos jours, l’usage des outils de communication électronique chez les jeunes est largement répandu et donne lieu à de nouvelles opportunités d’exercer de violence dans les relations intimes, par exemple la surveillance, le harcèlement ou les cyberviolences sexuelles (CVS). Si beaucoup d’études ont porté sur les facteurs de risque associés à la CVS chez les jeunes, c’est-à-dire de contraindre une personne à aborder un contenu à caractère sexuel (photos ou messages) sans le consentement de la personne, peu de travaux se sont penchés sur les facteurs de protection. Plus précisément, la CVS a surtout été abordée sous l’angle des sextos, l’appréhendant comme un comportement délinquant et néfaste pour le bien-être des jeunes. S’appuyant sur un devis quantitatif, ce mémoire s’intéresse aux filles ayant vécu une expérience amoureuse et sexuelle sous un angle victimologique et cherche à documenter les facteurs de risque et principalement de protection luttant contre les CVS dans un contexte de relation intime. Un échantillon de 1 082 filles de 14 à 19 ans (âge moyen 16,7 ans) ont rempli un questionnaire en ligne, nous renseignant sur leur vie sexuelle et amoureuse, sur les événements de victimisation subis, ainsi que sur des facteurs personnels et relationnels associés. Les résultats indiquent que l’attachement romantique (types sécurisant et préoccupé), l’assertivité sexuelle (la capacité à refuser un contact sexuel non désiré et à initier un contact sexuel souhaité) et le soutien social perçu pourraient limiter les risques de vivre une CVS, alors que l’exposition à la violence familiale, une plus forte estime de soi sexuel et l’attachement craintif sont associés à un risque plus élevé. Ainsi, à la lumière de ces résultats, les programmes de prévention de la CVS devraient lutter contre la violence familiale, miser sur l’importance de développer un style d’attachement romantique sécurisant chez les adolescentes ainsi que le renforcement de l’assertivité sexuelle et l’établissement d’un réseau social de confiance. Enfin, il serait important d’accompagner les adolescentes dans l’expression de leur estime de soi sexuel qui se déploient dans leur utilisation des outils technologiques, tout en renforçant leur capacité à mettre leurs limites et en légitimant l’importance du consentement lorsqu’il est question de cybersexualité entre partenaires intimes. / Today, the use of digital communication tools among youth is widespread and new possibilities arise for cyber dating abuse such as surveillance, harassment, or sexual cyber violence (SCV). While many studies focus on risk factors linking teenagers to SCV, i-e the use of force to broach sexual content (photos or messages) without the consent of the person, few researchers have focused on protective factors. More specifically, SCV has mainly been analysed from a “sexting” perspective, a delinquent behavior which represent a threat to the well-being of the adolescents. This quantitative thesis focuses on teenage girls who had romantic and sexual experiences from a victimological viewpoint and seeks to document the risk and, primarily, the protective factors that would limit SCV. A sample of 1 082 girls between the ages of 14 and 19 (mean age 16.7) completed an online questionnaire, informing us about their sex and love life, victimization events as well as personal and relational factors. Results indicate that romantic attachment (secure and anxious attachment types), sexual assertiveness (refusal of unwanted sex and sexual intimacy initiation) and perceived social support would limit the risk of experiencing SCV while the exposure to family violence, sexual self-esteem and fearful attachment would be associated with an increased risk. Thus, SCV prevention programs should focus on family violence, rely on good practices that promote a secure romantic attachment style, reinforce sexual assertiveness and establish a social network of trust. In addition, it would be important to support adolescent girls in expressing their sexual self-esteem through digital tools while strengthening their ability to set their limits and legitimizing the importance of consent on Internet.