Childhood Emotional Abuse and Cyberbullying Perpetration: The Role of Dark Personality Traits

The Effects of Covert Narcissism on Chinese College Students Cyberbullying: The Mediation of Hostile Attribution Bias and the Moderation of Self-Control

Purpose

The prevalence of cyberbullying has increased along with the growth of social media, which has brought about many adverse effects on individual development. The current study aimed to explore the connection between covert narcissism and cyberbullying and to test the roles of hostile attribution bias and self-control in the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying.

Materials and Methods

A total of 672 Chinese college students filled up questionnaires measuring covert narcissism, cyberbullying, hostile attribution bias, and self-control.

Results

The results indicated that covert narcissism positively and significantly predicted cyberbullying. Hostile attribution bias partially mediated the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying. Additionally, self-control moderated the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying. Specifically, the positive predictive effect of covert narcissism on cyberbullying gradually weakened as self-control improved.

Conclusion

This study explored the underlying mechanism of cyberbullying and found that covert narcissism could affect cyberbullying through hostile attribution bias. Self-control moderated the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying. The results have significant implications for the intervention and prevention of cyberbullying and additional evidence for the relationship between covert narcissism and cyberbullying.

The association between childhood trauma and adolescent cyberbullying: chain mediating roles of emotional intelligence and online social anxiety

Objective

This study explored the impact of childhood trauma on adolescent cyberbullying and the mediating roles of emotional intelligence and online social anxiety between them.

Methods

The Childhood Trauma Scale, Emotional Intelligence Scale, and Chinese Brief Version of the Social Media User Social Anxiety Scale and Cyber Bullying Scale were used to assess 1,046 adolescents [boys: 297, girls: 749, average age = 15.79 years] from four schools in Shandong Province, China. SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0 were used for statistical analysis.

Results

(1) Childhood trauma was positively associated with adolescents' cyberbullying; (2) Emotional intelligence and online social anxiety played partial mediating roles in the relationship between childhood trauma and cyberbullying; (3) Emotional intelligence and online social anxiety played a chain mediating role in the relationship between childhood trauma and cyberbullying.

Conclusion

This study reveals the relationship and mediating mechanisms between childhood trauma and cyberbullying. It provides implications for the theory and prevention of cyberbullying.

You Hurt Me, so I Hurt Myself and Others: How Does Childhood Emotional Maltreatment Affect Adolescent Violent Behavior and Suicidal Ideation?

Violent behavior and suicidal ideation are two major public health problems, with the former representing outward attack and the latter characterizing inward attack. The effects of emotional maltreatment in childhood will continue into adolescence. This study explores the impact of childhood emotional maltreatment on adolescent violent behavior/suicidal ideation and its mechanism. Participants were 3,600 adolescents (average age is 16.21 ± 0.99) from the middle east of China. They completed questionnaires measuring emotional maltreatment in childhood, deviant peer affiliation, depression, violent behavior, and suicidal ideation in adolescence. After controlling for demographic variables, we found that deviant peer affiliation and depression mediated between childhood emotional maltreatment and adolescent violent behavior/suicidal ideation. Multi-group analysis results showed that males' deviant peer affiliation would contribute to their violent behaviors. Among female groups, deviant peer affiliation and depression were risk factors for violent behavior and suicidal ideation. a) cross-sectional design was used in this study; b) all the measures were self-reported. Preventing emotional maltreatment in childhood can help reduce violent behavior and suicidal ideation by reducing deviant peer affiliation and depression in adolescence. Males who experienced emotional maltreatment in childhood are more likely to show violent behaviors shaped by external factors such as deviant peer affiliation. In contrast, females' interpersonal orientation and internalizing factors both influence their external and internal aggressive behaviors.

Childhood emotional abuse and cyberbullying perpetration among Chinese university students: The chain mediating effects of self-esteem and problematic social media use

Childhood abuse has been shown to have a range of adverse physical and psychological consequences, including aggression and bullying. While researchers have explored the relationship between childhood abuse and cyberbullying, little is known about the impact of emotional abuse on cyberbullying. This study examined the link between childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and cyberbullying perpetration among university students in the Chinese cultural context, as well as the chain mediating effect of self-esteem and Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU). A total of 835 university students (18-25 years old; 293 males, 542 females; M _age = 19.44 years, SD = 1.28) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short-Form (CTQ-SF), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Social Media Use Questionnaire (SMUQ), and Cyberbullying Inventory (CBI). The results showed that CEA and PSMU were positively correlated with cyberbullying; self-esteem was negatively correlated with cyberbullying. Besides, self-esteem and PSMU sequentially mediated the relationship between CEA and cyberbullying perpetration. The findings indicate that childhood emotional abuse may lower self-esteem and cause problematic social media use, which increases cyberbullying perpetration.

The Dark Tetrad, cybervictimization, and cyberbullying: The role of moral disengagement

Cyberbullying is a form of antisocial online behaviors. Perpetration of intentional and repeated harm inflicted through electronic devices is associated with dark personality traits and may be caused by morally impaired reasoning. In the current study, we investigated the associations between the Dark Tetrad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism), cybervictimization, and cyberbullying. We also examined the intervening role of moral disengagement in the relationship between the Dark Tetrad and cyberbullying. Two hundred fifty-one adults (72.6% women) participated in an on-line study. Correlational analysis indicated that all dark personality traits were associated with higher cyberbullying and cybervictimization (except narcissism as a predictor of cybervictimization). Moral disengagement was positively related to Machiavellianism, sadism and cybervictimization. Controlled for covariance between the Dark Tetrad traits and cybervictimization, sadism and cybervictimization appeared to be associated with cyberbullying. Moreover, moral disengagement did not account for the associations between the Dark Tetrad and cyberbullying.

Socioeconomic Effects in Cyberbullying: Global Research Trends in the Educational Context

Nowadays, cyberbullying has become a problem of social harassment in numerous educational centres worldwide. New communication technologies have provided the perfect support for the development of this type of harassment in peer relationships, in addition to being linked to broad social and economic circumstances. In this study, the global trends of the socioeconomic implications of cyberbullying in the educational context have been analysed, from 2004 to 2019. Thus, a bibliometric analysis has been applied to 1128 articles, obtaining results of the evolution of scientific activity in this period. The articles are mainly associated with the thematic areas of Social Sciences, Psychology, Medicine and Computer Science. Seven main thematic axes have been detected, highlighting those related to the psychological aspect, adolescence, and the school environment. Likewise, the link of the main authors, institutions, and countries to these lines of research has been detected. The evidence has shown the interest and relevance of this topic at the international level. Future research lines propose different analyses about how certain socioeconomic factors influence this psychological harassment inside and outside the classroom.