Assessment of the autonomic nervous system in university students exposed to cyberbullying

The effects of cyberbullying on autonomic nervous system were researched among university students. A sample of 30 volunteers was enrolled in the study. 15 volunteers (Males=8 and females=7) who were determined to be cyber victimized using the cyber victimization/bullying scale formed the cyber victimized group and 15 volunteers (Males=8 and females=7), who were not cyber victimized, formed the control group. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 23 years, and their body mass index values ranged between 19,05 and 28,41 kg/m2. The analysis of the demographic and anthropometric data revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The evaluations of the autonomic nervous system conducted from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Heart rate variability, mental arithmetic test, deep breathing test and isometric handgrip test were performed respectively. Heart rate variability analysis revealed that the mean values of high frequency band, standard deviation of normal to normal intervals, percentage of successive RR intervals that differ by more than 50 ms and root mean square of successive RR interval differences were lower in the cyber victimized group compared to the control group (p=0.009, p=0.034, p=0.035 and p=0.046, respectively). No statistically significant difference was found in low frequency band, low frequency/high frequency parameters and deep breathing test analysis. The percentage change of mean systolic blood pressures in the mental arithmetic test and the percentage change of mean diastolic blood pressures in the isometric handgrip test were significantly lower in the cyber-victimized group compared to the control group (p <0.001 and p = 0.006). In conclusion, parasympathetic tone was detected to be higher in the control group. Consequently, when evaluating the sympathovagal balance of cybervictims, it is deduced that their sympathetic activity exhibits elevated levels in comparison to the control group. The findings support the research hypothesis that cyberbullying affects the autonomic nervous system. The potential role of this factor in the development of both mental and physical pathologies associated with autonomic dysfunction requires further investigation. Keywords: cyberbullying, online bullying, autonomic regulation, heart rate variability, autonomic stress tests