Around one in seven Irish children who have been bullied online were ‘deeply affected' by the experience for at least a few months.

According to the study, Cyberbulling Among Irish 9-16 Year Olds, this type of bullying can have a major effect on its victims.

The study shows that among those who admit to being bullied online, at least half very ‘very upset' or ‘fairly upset' by their treatment. A further one in five said they were ‘upset'.

One in seven admitted to being ‘deeply affected for a couple of months or more'. The report noted that this is a high level of impact when compared with the European average of just 2%.

While half of teenagers said they got over the cyberbullying straight away, almost one in 10 said it took them weeks to get over.

The report also noted that just 15% of victims used internet reporting tools to deal with the problem, while half attempted to fix the problem themselves or simply ignored it.

It also noted that in almost seven in 10 cases, parents were unaware their child was being bullied online.

Meanwhile, around one in four 15-16 year olds admitted to cyberbullying others even though almost half of these had themselves been the victims of this type of bullying.

The report also found that online bullying is not as common in children aged nine to 12.

"This is the first time that the impact of cyberbullying on Irish youngsters has been measured and reveals the significant impact it can have on victims," commented one of the researchers, Brian O'Neill, of the Dublin Institute of Technology.

The study recommends increased awareness of the importance of parent/child communication on this issue. It also calls for more school strategies to deal with the problems, as currently, very few victims turn to teachers for help.

Young people affected by cyberbullying can get support at www.watchyourspace.ie