The Moderating Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Problematic Internet Use and Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Adolescents: Gender Differences

Social media users' attitudes toward cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with gender and verification status

Introduction

Social media platforms such as Twitter and Weibo facilitate both positive and negative communication, including cyberbullying. Empirical evidence has revealed that cyberbullying increases when public crises occur, that such behavior is gendered, and that social media user account verification may deter it. However, the association of gender and verification status with cyberbullying is underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by examining how Weibo users' gender, verification status, and expression of affect and anger in posts influence cyberbullying attitudes. Specifically, it investigates how these factors differ between posts pro- and anti-cyberbullying of COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.

Methods

This study utilized social role theory, the Barlett and Gentile Cyberbullying Model, and general strain theory as theoretical frameworks. We applied text classification techniques to identify pro-cyberbullying and anti-cyberbullying posts on Weibo. Subsequently, we used a standardized mean difference method to compare the emotional content of these posts. Our analysis focused on the prevalence of affective and anger-related expressions, particularly examining variations across gender and verification status of the users.

Results

Our text classification identified distinct pro-cyberbullying and anti-cyberbullying posts. The standardized mean difference analysis revealed that pro-cyberbullying posts contained significantly more emotional content compared to anti-cyberbullying posts. Further, within the pro-cyberbullying category, posts by verified female users exhibited a higher frequency of anger-related words than those by other users.

Discussion

The findings from this study can enhance researchers' algorithms for identifying cyberbullying attitudes, refine the characterization of cyberbullying behavior using real-world social media data through the integration of the mentioned theories, and help government bodies improve their cyberbullying monitoring especially in the context of public health crises.

The role of school climate on student disclosure of private information and cyberbullying: a comparison of regular and vocational school students in China

Introduction

Adolescents are experiencing an unprecedented cyber-saturated environment where the disclosure of private information should be approached with caution. This study aims to investigate the effects of school environment, including student support, teacher support, and opportunities for autonomy, on students' disclosure of private information and their experiences with cyberbullying.

Methods

In September 2022, a total of 1,716 students (mean age = 14.60, SD = 1.35) from three regular and vocational schools in China participated in the survey.

Results

The results showed that 35.6% of the participants had experienced victimization by cyberbullying, and 12.6% had perpetrated cyberbullying. Vocational school students reported significantly higher rates of cyberbullying and lower levels of perceived school climate than students from regular school. Student support in the school environment was found to negatively affect both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, with this impact appearing to be stronger in regular schools as compared to vocational schools. Opportunities for autonomy and the disclosure of private information were positively correlated with experiences of cyberbullying.

Discussion

This study introduces a novel perspective that perceived school climate influences adolescents' disclosure of private information and their involvement in cyberbullying. The findings could provide implications for future research and practices aimed at child protection in cyberspace.

Negative self-talk in runners: Emotional intelligence and perceived stress as explanatory factors

To optimize in the cognitive and emotional processes that appear in stressful situations in sports contexts is a relevant aspect to achieve a high level of performance. The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between perceived stress, emotional intelligence and negative self-talk in runners. It also aimed to determine whether emotional intelligence factors could play a protective role in this relationship. The sample consisted of 1071 runners from a race held in the Basque Country (Spain). The age of the participants was between 18 and 75 years (Mean = 41.59; SD = 9.95; 71.4% men). Participants completed an online survey days after the race. The results showed that perceived stress would be related to greater use of negative self-talk. In addition, evaluation of others' emotions and emotional regulation would also explain the occurrence of negative self-talk. Likewise, the interaction between perceived stress and appraisal of one's own emotions would explain the occurrence of negative self-talk, this relationship being stronger among those with lower scores on appraisal of one's own emotions. Results and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Examining Online Behaviors of Young Adults During the Covid-19 Pandemic Social Isolation Period with Regard to Life Satisfaction, Loneliness, and Hostility

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed individuals to intense restrictions and social isolation, as well as the possibility of deterioration of physical health. In the pandemic period, the Internet has become the principal avenue for social interaction, leisure related activities, and school-work pursuits for most people and consequently problematic Internet use (PIU) has increased dramatically in this period. Modeling of PIU among university students - considered one of the most negatively affected groups at this time - along with PIU subconstructs as well as indicators of psychological well-being - life satisfaction, loneliness, and hostility - will be valuable in directing future studies. This study examined the effects of the psychological well-being indicators of life satisfaction, loneliness, and hostility on PIU constructs; the preference for online social interaction, Internet use for mood regulation, and deficient self-regulation of Internet use during the Covid-19 pandemic social isolation period. Participants were 418 undergraduate students from a public university (130 male and 288 female). Results revealed that young adults with low life satisfaction have been more likely to problematically use the Internet to regulate their mood during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hostility and loneliness between which there is a moderately strong direct relationship, were similarly related to deficiently self-regulated Internet use. Moreover, individuals experiencing feelings of loneliness are more likely to use the Internet problematically for online social interaction purposes, while those experiencing feelings of hostility are more likely to use it problematically for mood regulation purposes. Given the significant relationships between indicators of psychological well-being and PIU, higher education institutions should take measures to prevent PIU behaviors in their students in case they face potential periods of social isolation.

Association of Cyberbullying and Internet Use Disorder

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to critically assess the published studies on the relationship between cyberbullying and internet use disorder (IUD), and propose directions for further study.

Recent Findings

There were only four prospective studies out of thirty-two reviewed studies conducted since 2004, with only one prospective study conducted during the past 5 years. The field of study has been stagnant during the past 5 years with the vast majority of studies conducted on primary or secondary education and failing to address cyberbullying and IUD in social media and online gaming.

Summary

Cyberbullying and IUD have been described since the nineties, yet there are still significant issues with their definition and research. Lately, both these problematic behaviors are sharing the same environments in social media and online gaming. This critical appraisal of published research examined thirty-two published peer-reviewed studies carried out since 2004. Findings indicate a number of significant issues including an overreliance on cross-sectional study design, near-exclusive focus on primary and secondary education students, widespread employment of unstandardized measures for cyberbullying and IUD, and lack of assessment for objective measures of psychological distress. Directions for future research are offered.

The influence of family incivility on cyberbullying perpetration: A moderated mediation model

Previous research has extended the stress literature by exploring the relationship between family incivility and cyberbullying perpetration, yet relatively less attention has been paid to underlying psychological mechanisms between that relationship among university students. According to the Frustration-Aggression Theory, this study examined the relationships of family incivility, cyberbullying perpetration, negative emotions and neuroticism among Chinese university students. Data were collected from 814 university students (females, N = 423; Mage = 19.96 years, SD = 3.09). The results examined the mechanism through which family incivility was significantly related to cyberbullying perpetration through the mediation of negative emotions, suggesting a strong link of stressful life events to online aggression. In addition, high levels of neuroticism moderated the relationship between family incivility and cyberbullying perpetration, as well as that between family incivility and negative emotions. The study revealed the chronic and potential impact of family incivility, underlined the interaction between stressful life events and online aggression, and put forward the intervention strategies of cyberbullying among university students.

Self-Concept as a Mediator of the Relation Between University Students' Resilience and Academic Achievement

Academic achievement is a factor of interest in both psychology and education. Determining which factors have a negative or positive influence on academic performance has produced different investigations. The present study focuses on analyzing the relationship between resilience, emotional intelligence, self-concept and the academic achievement of university students. For this purpose, different self-report tools were administered to a sample of 1,020 university students from Southern Spain. The Structural Equation-based mediational analysis suggests that there is no direct relationship between resilience and academic achievement, nor between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. Likewise, self-concept is positioned as a mediating factor in the relationship between resilience and academic achievement. The findings indicate that university students who exhibit high levels of resilience tend to cope better with difficult moments and understand and value the effort required and invested in study time. This study supports positive beliefs and behaviors for better academic achievement.