Longitudinal Insights into the Neurophysiology of Cyberbullying
Involvement in Adolescence: A Bayesian Approach Using EEG Spectral Power
Abstract
The impact of cyberbullying on mental health is a significant concern
among adolescents, yet there is limited research on the
neurophysiological markers of cyberbullying. This study aims to address
this by exploring whether resting state electroencephalography (EEG)
power, among traditional frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta),
predicts cyberbullying experiences over time. Participants (N=167 with
n=904 datapoints; aged 12.0-17.9 years) completed EEG and other
assessments at 4 monthly-intervals for five years. Results revealed
several associations between EEG power across brain regions and various
cyberbullying roles. Key findings include a decrease in EEG power across
all frequency bands over time across the entire sample, aligning with
typical developmental patterns. However, in early adolescence,
cyberbully-victims exhibited lower delta power compared to other groups,
which may suggest heightened emotional reactivity. Conversely, later in
adolescence there were decreases in delta power among cyberbullies,
potentially reflective an adaptive stress response. Longitudinally,
cyberbully-victims retained more alpha power over time (i.e. into later
adolescence) in frontal and central regions, suggesting greater
cognitive effort in processing emotional experiences. Conversely,
cyberbullies showed a relative steeper decline in alpha power (into
later adolescence) in frontal regions, possibly linked to impulsivity
and higher levels of general aggression. Longitudinal analyses highlight
the importance of early interventions to target cognitive and emotional
processes that may be implicated in cyberbullying in order to reduce the
impact of cyberbullying and protect the mental health of adolescents.
Future research should involve larger, more diverse samples to improve
our knowledge of complex relationships in this research area.