{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,8]],"date-time":"2026-05-08T22:17:30Z","timestamp":1778278650904,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,29]],"date-time":"2024-01-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1706486400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Nowadays, children are able to enrich their reality via the Internet. Unfortunately, this may increase their risk of becoming victims of cyberbullying. We analyzed the health characteristics and risk behavior of two cohorts of children in Serbia; those who reported being exposed to cyberbullying and those who did not. The statistical differences and logistic regression models were applied to the data on 3267 students collected from 64 schools participating in the 2017 Serbian Study on health behavior in school-age children (HBSC). Children exposed to cyberbullying reported having the following health problems on a daily basis: headache (18.5%), back pain (19.5%), depression (21.6%), irritability or bad mood (17.7%), nervousness (16.0%), sleep problems (16.1%), and dizziness (21.2%). As for the different types of risk behavior, cigarette smoking ranging from six to nine days ever was the most prevalent (26.9%). It was followed closely by getting drunk more than 10 times ever (24.1%). Compared to non-victims, victims were found to be at a higher risk of perceived back pain (OR = 2.27), depression (OR = 1.43), irritability or bad mood (OR = 2.07), nervousness (OR = 2.23), and dizziness (OR = 2.43) as well as being injured once or twice (OR = 1.98) or three or more times (OR = 4.09). Victims were associated with further risk factors: having smoked more than five cigarettes ever in life (OR = 1.73) and having gotten drunk two to three times (OR = 1.71) or four or more times (OR = 1.65). As the number of school-age children using social media continues to rise, we must prioritize educating them about self-help and community resources for addressing related health issues with greater speed and intensity. The findings from Serbia suggest that while children may be aware of their health issues, they may be unaware of their link to cyberbullying, which could hinder their ability to address these issues promptly. The respondents\u2019 attention to the health implications of cyberbullying could be increased by reformulating the survey questions used in the HBSC study.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children11020172","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,29]],"date-time":"2024-01-29T08:11:27Z","timestamp":1706515887000},"page":"172","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Recognizing the Frequency of Exposure to Cyberbullying in Children: The Results of the National HBSC Study in Serbia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0710-6329","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milica","family":"Kangrga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Children\u2019s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0609-9916","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dejan","family":"Nikolic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Children\u2019s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0684-359X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milena","family":"Santric-Milicevic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Laboratory for Strengthening Capacity and Performance of Health System and Workforce for Health Equity, Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ljiljana","family":"Rakic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Hematology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tatjana","family":"Knezevic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Children\u2019s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8066-5701","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Goran","family":"Djuricic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Radiology, University Children\u2019s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jasna","family":"Stojkovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Children\u2019s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Natasa","family":"Radosavljevic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, State University of Novi Pazar, 36300 Novi Pazar, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sladjana","family":"Mihajlovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital \u201cDragisa Misovic\u201d, Heroja Milana Tepica 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Biljana","family":"Medjo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics and Neonatal Intensive Care, University Children\u2019s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Milan","family":"Lackovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital \u201cDragisa Misovic\u201d, Heroja Milana Tepica 1, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"878","DOI":"10.1177\/0004867419846393","article-title":"Prevalence of traditional bullying and cyberbullying among children and adolescents in Australia: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"53","author":"Jadambaa","year":"2019","journal-title":"Aust. N. Z. J. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Gredler, G.R., and Olweus, D. (2003). Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do, Blackwell Publishing."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s00787-021-01763-0","article-title":"Traditional bullying and cyberbullying in the digital age and its associated mental health problems in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis","volume":"1","author":"Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur. Child. Adolesc. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"163","article-title":"Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization in Youth: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies","volume":"25","author":"Marciano","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Comput. Commun."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7610.2007.01846.x","article-title":"Cyberbullying: Its nature and impact in secondary school pupils","volume":"49","author":"Smith","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry Allied. Discip."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1375\/ajgc.20.2.143","article-title":"Cyber-aggression: Definition and concept of cyberbullying","volume":"20","author":"Grigg","year":"2010","journal-title":"Aust. J. Guid. Couns."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101343","DOI":"10.1016\/j.avb.2019.101343","article-title":"Cyberbullying: Concepts, theories, and correlates informing evidence-based best practices for prevention","volume":"50","author":"Ansary","year":"2020","journal-title":"Aggress. Violent Behav."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fabris, M.A., Longobardi, C., Morese, R., and Marengo, D. (2022). Exploring Multivariate Profiles of Psychological Distress and Empathy in Early Adolescent Victims, Bullies, and Bystanders Involved in Cyberbullying Episodes. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19169871"},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"1","article-title":"Correction: School Bullying and Personality Traits from Elementary School to University","volume":"1","author":"Gkatsa","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Bullying Prev."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"634909","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2021.634909","article-title":"Cyberbullying among Adolescents and Children: A Comprehensive Review of the Global Situation, Risk Factors, and Preventive Measures","volume":"9","author":"Zhu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118","DOI":"10.1016\/j.avb.2015.05.019","article-title":"The process of coping with cyberbullying: A systematic review","volume":"23","author":"Raskauskas","year":"2015","journal-title":"Aggress. Violent Behav."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1177\/0143034311401700","article-title":"The prevalence of cyberbullying among adolescents: A case study of middle schools in Serbia","volume":"32","year":"2011","journal-title":"Sch. Psychol. Int."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Cyberbullying: What Is It and How to Stop, It., and What Teens Know about Cyberbullying (2023, November 29). UNICEF. Available online: https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/end-violence\/how-to-stop-cyberbullying."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.63.2.111","article-title":"Online \u201cpredators\u201d and their victims: Myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment","volume":"63","author":"Wolak","year":"2008","journal-title":"Am. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1515\/ijamh.2012.005","article-title":"Cyberbullying and adolescent mental health","volume":"24","author":"Suzuki","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Adolesc. Med. Health"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"128","DOI":"10.1093\/eurpub\/cki105","article-title":"Bullying and symptoms among school-aged children: International comparative cross sectional study in 28 countries","volume":"15","author":"Due","year":"2005","journal-title":"Eur. J. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"730","DOI":"10.1001\/archpedi.158.8.730","article-title":"Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviors and psychosocial adjustment","volume":"158","author":"Nansel","year":"2004","journal-title":"Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Siah, P.C., Tee, X.Y., Tan, J.T.A., Tan, C.S., Lokithasan, K., Low, S.K., and Yap, C.C. (2022). Cybervictimization and Depression among Adolescents: Coping Strategies as Mediators. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19, Available online: https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/35409586\/.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19073903"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.48.1.26","article-title":"The structure of phenotypic personality traits","volume":"48","author":"Goldberg","year":"1993","journal-title":"Am. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"720","DOI":"10.1001\/archgenpsychiatry.2010.79","article-title":"Psychosocial risk factors associated with cyberbullying among adolescents: A population-based study","volume":"67","author":"Sourander","year":"2010","journal-title":"Arch. Gen. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1177\/0706743716684791","article-title":"Cyberbullying in Children and Youth: Implications for Health and Clinical Practice","volume":"62","author":"Vaillancourt","year":"2017","journal-title":"Can. J. Psychiatry."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1007\/s40124-020-00217-6","article-title":"Cyberbullying and Adolescents","volume":"8","author":"Kumar","year":"2020","journal-title":"Curr. Pediatr. Rep."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1016\/0272-7358(88)90050-5","article-title":"Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation","volume":"8","author":"Beck","year":"1988","journal-title":"Clin. Psychol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"470","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2023.02.124","article-title":"Cybervictimization and non-suicidal self-injury among Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal moderated mediation model","volume":"329","author":"Lin","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Affect. Disord."},{"key":"ref_25","first-page":"112","article-title":"Cyberbullying and Adolescent Suicide","volume":"51","author":"Schonfeld","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104417","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2020.104417","article-title":"Investigating the association between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation among adolescents: Evidence from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey","volume":"102","author":"Baiden","year":"2020","journal-title":"Child Abuse Negl."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Gudelj-Rakic, J., Jovanovic, V., Kilibarda, B., Vasic, M., Tosic, M., and Kisic-Tepavcevic, D. (2018). Osnovni Rezultati Istrazivanja Ponasanja u Vezi sa Zdravljem Kod Dece \u0160kolskog Uzrasta u Republici Srbiji 2017. Godine (Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children, HBSC), Institut za Javno Zdravlje Srbije \u201cDr Milan Jovanovi\u00b4c Batut\u201d. Available online: http:\/\/www.zjzpa.org.rs\/wpcontent\/uploads\/2020\/01\/2018osnovniRezultatiIstrazivanja HBSC.pdf."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rakic, L., Santric-Milicevic, M., Nikolic, D., Vasic, M., Babic, U., Todorovic, J., Terzic-Supic, Z., and Milenkovic, S. (2021). The Relationship between Individual and Family Characteristics and Cyberbullying Exposure in a Nationally Representative Sample of School-Aged Children Living in Serbia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18147443"},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Popadic, D., Plut, D., and Pavlovic, Z. (2014). Scanner Studio. Available online: http:\/\/www.mpn.gov.rs\/wp- content\/uploads\/2015 \/08\/Nasilje_u_skolama_Srbije_web_24.3.2015.pdf."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"886","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2011-090185","article-title":"Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: A review of reviews","volume":"45","author":"Biddle","year":"2011","journal-title":"Br. J. Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0187668","article-title":"The influence of physical activity, sedentary behavior on health-related quality of life among the general population of children and adolescents: A systematic review","volume":"12","author":"Wu","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1007\/s00787-012-0374-6","article-title":"Differences in predictors of traditional and cyber-bullying: A 2-year longitudinal study in Korean school children","volume":"22","author":"Yang","year":"2013","journal-title":"Eur. Child. Adolesc. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12907","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.12907","article-title":"Cyber-victimization and its association with depression among Vietnamese adolescents","volume":"10","author":"Thai","year":"2022","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"ref_34","first-page":"269","article-title":"Bullying through the Internet\u2014Cyberbullying","volume":"32","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychiatr. Danub."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2095","DOI":"10.1007\/s10943-019-00938-z","article-title":"The Association of Cyber-Bullying and Adolescents in Religious and Secular Schools in Israel","volume":"58","author":"Tesler","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Relig. Health"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lazea, C., Popa, A., and Varga, C. (2020). Association between Internet Use Behavior and Palpitation among Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study of Middle School Children from Northwest Romania. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17124278"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1007\/s00586-007-0583-8","article-title":"Physical activity and low-back pain in schoolchildren","volume":"17","author":"Skoffer","year":"2008","journal-title":"Eur. Spine J."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.1186\/s12966-020-01016-4","article-title":"Bullying victimization, physical inactivity and sedentary behavior among children and adolescents: A meta-analysis","volume":"17","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100452","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bjpt.2022.100452","article-title":"Sedentary behavior is associated with musculoskeletal pain in adolescents: A cross sectional study","volume":"26","author":"Lemes","year":"2022","journal-title":"Braz. J. Phys. Ther."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ben\u00edtez-Sillero, J.D., Armada Crespo, J.M., Ruiz C\u00f3rdoba, E., and Raya-Gonz\u00e1lez, J. (2021). Relationship between Amount, Type, Enjoyment of Physical Activity and Physical Education Performance with Cyberbullying in Adolescents. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18042038"},{"key":"ref_41","first-page":"e8","article-title":"Cyberbullying victimisation and internalising and externalising problems among adolescents: The moderating role of parent-child relationship and child\u2019s sex","volume":"29","author":"Lalande","year":"2018","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Psychiatr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"27","article-title":"Factors Associated with Cyberbullying Victimisation among Colombian High-School Adolescents","volume":"15","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Child. Adolesc. Trauma"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"832","DOI":"10.1111\/josh.12437","article-title":"Victims of Bullying and Tobacco Use Behaviors in Adolescents: Differences Between Bullied at School, Electronically, or Both","volume":"86","author":"Case","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Sch. Health"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rodr\u00edguez-Enr\u00edquez, M., Bennasar-Veny, M., Leiva, A., and Ya\u00f1ez, A.M. (2019). Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption, Personality, and Cybervictimization among Adolescents. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph16173123"}],"container-title":["Children"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/11\/2\/172\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T13:51:02Z","timestamp":1760104262000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2227-9067\/11\/2\/172"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,29]]},"references-count":44,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2]]}},"alternative-id":["children11020172"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/children11020172","relation":{},"ISSN":["2227-9067"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2227-9067","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,29]]}}}