Research project Caring – Exposure to Cyberbullying and other harmful on-line content, by researcher Mariana Rodrigues from the Center for Research in Education and Intervention (CIIE), was granted a financial support from the Social Observatory of the “la Caixa” Foundation.

“Children and young people are more digitally connected than ever. Exposure to cyberbullying and other harmful online content – ​​such as hate speech, misinformation, sexualized content, violent images, unhealthy eating habits or self-harm – constitutes global problems with potential negative impact on health, emotional well-being and academic development, the which, ultimately, can compromise the adult life of the youth population”, states Mariana Rodrigues.

With an expected duration of 12 months, the project aims to understand young people’s perceptions about exposure to cyberbullying and other potentially harmful on-line content; analyse how these experiences affect academic and psychosocial dimensions; and, finally, explore how risk and protective factors condition both the levels of cyberbullying and exposure to harmful on-line content, and the effect of these experiences on academic and psychosocial dimensions.

The research will adopt a quantitative approach, by carrying out a national survey among a representative sample of young people (11-21 years old).

A study on the topic conducted by Mariana Rodrigues in 2022 showed, among other data, that 1 in 10 young people was a victim of cyberbullying very frequently, in the form of comments, rumors or harassment.

The selection process of proposals received was conducted by academic experts in the field of social sciences linked to the area under study. Projects remained anonymous throughout the evaluation process.