Cyberstalking and Previous Offline Victimization in Italian Young Adults: The Role of Coping Strategies

The aim of this study was to examine the association between different coping strategies and physical and emotional consequences, depressive symptoms, state anxiety, and trait anxiety, distinguishing between victims with previous offline victimization experiences (e.g., bullying, domestic violence) and those without such experiences. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed in a snowball system to more than 700 young adults in Italy. A total of 689 individuals completed the instrument. Of these, 305 participants (44%) reported having been victims of at least one form of cyberstalking. A total of 201 participants (66% of victims) reported having experienced both cyberstalking and other forms of victimization in their lifetime, while 89 (29% of victims) reported having experienced only cyberstalking. Overall, the results of this study show that victims with previous victimization had significantly higher scores on physical, emotional, depressive, and anxiety symptoms than victims who had never been victimized. In addition, results showed that victims who have been victimized before are more likely to use all three strategies (proactive, avoidant, passive) to stop cyberstalking than victims who have never been victimized. The results of this study may be useful in developing interventions to mitigate the effects of cyberstalking and prevent future victimization.