Alexithymia, internet addiction, and cyber-victimisation among high school students in Turkey: an exploratory study

Objective: The study aims to explore the interrelationships among internet addiction, cyber-victimisation, and alexithymia in high school adolescents in Turkey, emphasising the role of gender. Materials & Methods: 305 participants were surveyed via Young's Internet Addiction Test – Short Form (YIAT-SF), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Cyberbullying Scale. The influence of gender on alexithymia, particularly in identifying and describing feelings, and its effect on internet addiction and cyber-victimisation was evaluated by path analysis. Results: There was a moderate positive correlation between YIAT-SF and TAS-20 total scores (r = 0.385, p < 0.001). YIAT-SF and TAS-20 total scores were positively correlated with CVS score (r = 0.151, p = 0.008; r = 0.140, p = 0.015, respectively). The results revealed gender significantly affects alexithymia dimensions, particularly in difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) (β = 0.14, p = 0.010) and difficulty describing feelings (DDF) (β = 0.28, p < 0.001). Moreover, DDF was found to have a substantial impact on cyber-victimisation (β = 0.32, p < 0.001), and DIF significantly influenced internet addiction (β = 0.49, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of considering gender-specific factors when addressing Internet addiction and cyber-victimisation. Gender differences in alexithymic traits highlight the need for specific preventive and therapeutic approaches that focus on emotional recognition and expression skills.