Cyberbullying from parents' perspectives: experiences of Turkish parents of children with intellectual disabilities


Yazicioglu T., Ozer E.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus)

Özet

Parents' views on ensuring the cyber security of individuals with intellectual disabilities are important. Therefore, this study investigated the views of parents of Turkish children with mild intellectual disabilities and their exposure to cyberbullying. Thus, the situation of individuals with intellectual disabilities regarding cyberbullying is revealed. This study used a phenomenological design and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 parents of children with mild intellectual disability. Seven themes emerged from data analysis: Awareness, knowledge of cyberbullying, cyberbullying in social media, cyberbullying in online games, children's reactions, precautions, and suggestions. As a result, parents consider that they should control and monitor their children to protect them from cyber victimization. Additionally, cyberbullying prevents parents from ensuring that their children have access to technology without the risk of digital exclusion.