Cyberbullied Teens Were Nearly 5x More Likely to Try Cannabis a Year Later
Early adolescents who experienced cyberbullying were 4.65 times more likely to experiment with cannabis within the next year, alongside elevated risks for depression, suicidal behavior, and other substance use.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Cyberbullying victimization at ages 11-12 was prospectively associated with cannabis experimentation one year later (AOR 4.65, 95% CI 2.46-8.77), along with alcohol (AOR 1.98) and nicotine experimentation (AOR 3.37). Cyberbullying also predicted higher depressive, somatic, and attention problems, and 2.62x higher odds of suicidal behaviors.
Key Numbers
n=9,799; 48.4% female; 45.1% non-White; 8.7% reported cyberbullying victimization; cannabis AOR 4.65; nicotine AOR 3.37; alcohol AOR 1.98; suicidal behaviors AOR 2.62; depressive problems beta=0.61; somatic problems beta=1.00.
How They Did This
Prospective cohort analysis of ABCD Study data (n=9,799 early adolescents aged 11-12), using logistic regression to examine associations between cyberbullying victimization at Year 2 and mental health and substance use outcomes at Year 3, adjusting for sociodemographics and baseline measures.
Why This Research Matters
This is one of the largest prospective studies to link cyberbullying with cannabis initiation in early adolescence. The finding that cyberbullying carries the strongest association with cannabis experimentation (compared to alcohol and nicotine) suggests cyberbullied youth may be particularly vulnerable to cannabis as a coping mechanism.
The Bigger Picture
As cyberbullying prevalence grows with increasing digital access, understanding its downstream effects on substance use is increasingly important. This study suggests that addressing cyberbullying could be an upstream intervention point for preventing early cannabis and other substance use.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Self-reported cyberbullying and substance use may be subject to recall and social desirability bias. One-year follow-up is short to establish lasting patterns. Cannabis experimentation (any use) does not equal regular use or problematic use. Residual confounding from unmeasured variables.
Questions This Raises
- ?What mechanisms link cyberbullying to cannabis experimentation specifically?
- ?Do these associations persist into mid-adolescence and beyond?
- ?Would anti-cyberbullying interventions reduce downstream substance use?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Cyberbullied 11-12 year olds were 4.65x more likely to experiment with cannabis within a year
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate: Large prospective cohort from the well-designed ABCD Study with proper temporal ordering, though self-reported measures and single-year follow-up limit conclusions.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2025 using ABCD Study data.
- Original Title:
- Cyberbullying, mental health, and substance use experimentation among early adolescents: a prospective cohort study.
- Published In:
- Lancet regional health. Americas, 46, 101002 (2025)
- Authors:
- Nagata, Jason M(4), Shim, Joan(2), Balasubramanian, Priyadharshini, Leong, Alicia W, Smith-Russack, Zacariah, Shao, Iris Y, Al-Shoaibi, Abubakr A A, Helmer, Christiane K, Ganson, Kyle T, Testa, Alexander, Kiss, Orsolya, He, Jinbo, Groves, Allison K, Baird, Sarah, Baker, Fiona C
- Database ID:
- RTHC-07226
Evidence Hierarchy
Enrolls participants and follows them forward in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the cannabis association stronger than alcohol or nicotine?
The study found cyberbullying had the strongest association with cannabis experimentation (4.65x) compared to nicotine (3.37x) and alcohol (1.98x). The reasons are not fully clear, but may relate to cannabis perceived relaxation or escape effects being more appealing to distressed youth.
Does being cyberbullied cause substance use?
The prospective design (measuring cyberbullying before substance use) strengthens the evidence for a directional relationship, but observational studies cannot prove causation. Shared risk factors like family environment and mental health vulnerabilities may partially explain the association.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-07226APA
Nagata, Jason M; Shim, Joan; Balasubramanian, Priyadharshini; Leong, Alicia W; Smith-Russack, Zacariah; Shao, Iris Y; Al-Shoaibi, Abubakr A A; Helmer, Christiane K; Ganson, Kyle T; Testa, Alexander; Kiss, Orsolya; He, Jinbo; Groves, Allison K; Baird, Sarah; Baker, Fiona C. (2025). Cyberbullying, mental health, and substance use experimentation among early adolescents: a prospective cohort study.. Lancet regional health. Americas, 46, 101002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2025.101002
MLA
Nagata, Jason M, et al. "Cyberbullying, mental health, and substance use experimentation among early adolescents: a prospective cohort study.." Lancet regional health. Americas, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2025.101002
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Cyberbullying, mental health, and substance use experimentat..." RTHC-07226. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/nagata-2025-cyberbullying-mental-health-and
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.