Digital Harm without Borders: Cyberbullying against Children - Prevalence, Psychological Consequences, Prevention Evidence, and Comparative Legal Responses

Resumen

Cyberbullying against children has emerged as a global public health and legal governance challenge of the first order. The rapid digitalisation of childhood - accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic - has substantially expanded children's exposure to online harm while existing protective frameworks have struggled to keep pace. This integrative review synthesises peer-reviewed evidence published between 2020 and 2025 on the prevalence, psychological and behavioural consequences, risk factors, prevention strategies, and legal regulatory responses to cyberbullying against children. It further identifies critical gaps in the literature and proposes a research agenda for the next phase of the field. A structured integrative review methodology was employed. Six academic databases were searched (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) using pre-specified search terms and inclusion criteria. Supplementary searches identified relevant institutional reports (WHO, UNICEF, OECD) and legislative documents. Forty-seven sources meeting inclusion criteria are synthesised and critically evaluated. Global cyberbullying prevalence among children ranges from 15% to 45% across methodologically comparable studies, with significant gender and age variation. Victimisation is robustly associated with depression, anxiety, academic disengagement, and - in a subset of severe cases - suicidal ideation. Risk factors operate at individual, family, school, technological, and socioeconomic levels. Prevention evidence is positive but context-dependent; cross-cultural transferability of established programmes remains under validated. Legal frameworks across five jurisdictions are evaluated as largely reactive and institutionally fragmented, with the EU Digital Services Act 2022 and UK Online Safety Act 2023 representing the most advanced proactive governance models. Cyberbullying against children is a multi-dimensional harm requiring a multi-level response. Neither single-sector prevention programmes nor standalone legislative reform is sufficient. An integrated architecture combining evidence-based school interventions, platform accountability regulation, mental health support, and accessible legal remedies is both empirically justified and normatively necessary. AI-enabled cyberbullying constitutes an emerging frontier that current research and regulatory frameworks are inadequately equipped to address.