Resilience in the face of cyberbullying: an ecological perspective on young people’s experiences of online adversity

Adolescents experience a variety of biological, psychological and social changes. While some adolescents face significant risk, the majority of young people are able to successfully navigate their way through to maintaining resilience, that is, the ability to cope and overcome adversity despite facing challenges. However, exposure to acts of cyberbullying is a contemporary risk that young people must also negotiate. Despite a range of studies examining adolescents’ experiences of bullying through technological formats, few studies have considered how young people manage these risk situations and develop resilience. This article proposes a conceptual framework, based on ecological theory, to examine the various contextual factors that help young people cope with online risks. Drawing on two qualitative scenarios of adolescent girls, this paper reveals that supportive resources within the personal, home, school, public and cyber contexts can help young females maintain resilience despite being victims of cyberbullying.