Addressing Cyberbullying and Its Impact on Mental Health Among Children in Southeast Europe

Abstract

Addressing Cyberbullying and Its Impact on Mental Health Among Children in Southeast Europe brings together researchers and practitioners from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and North Macedonia to examine one of the most pressing risks children face in the digital environment. The book combines evidence-based research with a regional perspective, focusing on prevention, on the mental health consequences of online violence, and on the role children themselves can play in shaping safer digital spaces.

What sets the volume apart is its approach to child participation. Young people from the Child Leadership Team South East Europe chose the topic, reviewed the authors’ child-friendly abstracts, helped shape the research questions and contributed to the final design. The book therefore opens with a foreword written together with children, and carries their voices through every chapter. It is a book written not only about children, but with them.

An editorial introduction by Lucija Vejmelka synthesises prevalence data and mental health findings across the region, reviews national and regional strategies, and argues for coordinated, multi-sectoral action. Four studies follow:

ERMA Alumna Valmira Morina examines the socio-political and cultural dimensions of cyberbullying in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, including its intersection with gender-based violence. ERMA Alumna Maja Šenk presents qualitative research with teaching and professional staff in seven Sarajevo high schools, focusing on the emotional and mental health toll on students. Miroslav Rajter, Roberta Matković and Tomislav Ramljak analyse nationally representative Croatian deSHAME data on online sexual harassment and its effect on the well-being of victims, witnesses and perpetrators. Sunchica Dimitrijoska and Natasha Pavićević–Stojmenovska examine the role of social support and mental health care in North Macedonia, drawing on case studies across urban, rural and multiethnic settings.

The shared thread is a recognition of children as rights-holders with the capacity to influence change in their own digital environments. The findings and recommendations are intended as both a call to action and a practical guide for policymakers, educators, mental health professionals and child protection advocates across Southeast Europe.