Navigating digital harassment: A cross-country study of factors affecting cyberbullying among nursing students in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

BACKGROUND

Cyberbullying threatens safety and learning in higher education. Nursing students' intensive use of digital tools may increase exposure in Saudi Arabia's near-universal connectivity and Egypt's rapidly expanding access.

OBJECTIVE

To compare patterns and predictors of cyberbullying involvement-cybervictimization and cyberaggression-among nursing students in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical, multi-site study (STROBE).

METHODS

Undergraduate nursing students from five universities completed the Arabic-validated European Cyber Bullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (March-July 2025; N = 1596). Data were screened using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests and Winsorizing. Analyses included descriptive statistics, t-tests/ANOVA, Pearson correlations, and multiple linear regression (α = 0.05).

RESULTS

Egyptian students reported higher cybervictimization, cyberaggression, and overall involvement than Saudi students (all p < 0.01). Males scored higher than females on cybervictimization (3.72 vs 3.07), cyberaggression (1.18 vs 0.73), and total involvement (4.90 vs 3.80; all p < 0.001). Students aged ≥23 had the highest mean scores in bivariate analyses. Overall involvement correlated strongly with cybervictimization (r = 0.968) and moderately with cyberaggression (r = 0.692) (all p < 0.001). The regression model was significant (R2 = 0.090, F = 13.11, p < 0.001). Lower scores were associated with Saudi origin and female gender; not knowing about cyberbullying was associated with lower reported scores. Disclosure to friends/social media was associated with higher scores.

CONCLUSION

Cyberbullying is common and varies by national context, gender, age, awareness, and disclosure patterns.

NURSING IMPLICATIONS: Integrate digital literacy and cyber-safety training, establish confidential reporting/support pathways, align university procedures with national cybercrime laws, and implement routine screening and referral for distress (e.g., anxiety/depression) and low self-esteem to protect well-being and learning outcomes.