Bullying Prevalence and Associations with Mental Health Problems Among Canadian Undergraduates During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Along with shifts to online learning and declines in mental health, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased rates of adolescent cyberbullying; however, research on bullying in the pandemic context in emerging adulthood is limited. We examined demographic and pandemic-related differences in cyber- (i.e., online) and traditional (i.e., in-person) bullying involvement among 1,435 first-year undergraduates, and how each form of bullying was related to internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression) and externalizing problems (i.e., alcohol use and risky behaviour). Overall, victimization (47.1%) was more prevalent than perpetration (26.2%) and both forms of traditional involvement were more prevalent (51.7%) than cyber involvement (18.2%) over the past six months. Women had higher odds of experiencing both cyber- and traditional victimization compared to men, but no gender differences in perpetration were found. Comparing data collected during high (i.e., Fall 2021) and low (i.e., Fall 2022) COVID-19 public health restrictions unexpectedly demonstrated that Fall 2022 students had higher odds of experiencing cyber-victimization and -perpetration than Fall 2021 students. Both internalizing outcomes were associated with traditional and cybervictimization. Alcohol use was positively associated only with traditional perpetration. Risky behaviour was positively associated with all forms of bullying involvement. Thus, bullying involvement persists during emerging adults’ transition into university, especially as COVID-19 restrictions dissipate, and has concerning associations with student mental health. Future research and action are needed to monitor bullying involvement and associations with mental health post-pandemic and explore interventions and supports for at-risk undergraduates (e.g., women, risk-taking students).