A Serial Mediation Model of the Relationship between Cybervictimization and Cyberaggression: The Role of Stress and Unforgiveness Motivations

Effects of relative deprivation on change in displaced aggression and the underlying motivation mechanism: A three-wave cross-lagged analysis

Displaced aggression refers to pernicious acts against innocent people. To date, little is known about mechanisms underlying dynamic changes in displaced aggression. The present study constructed a cross-lagged model to examine the dynamic effects of relative deprivation on displaced aggression and the mediation mechanisms underlying these effects. A total of 1130 undergraduate students participated in this three-wave longitudinal study. The results showed that relative deprivation predicted changes in displaced aggression through concurrent changes in levels of hostile attribution bias and moral disengagement. Hostile attribution bias and moral disengagement could predict each other longitudinally. The relationships between relative deprivation and displaced aggression, and relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias were mutual. This multiple mediation model with two mutually predicting mediators was explained from the aggressive motivation perspective. The findings help inform aggression theories and have implications for the prevention of and interventions against displaced aggression.

Relational model of relative deprivation, revenge, and cyberbullying: A three-time longitudinal study

Cyberbullying is a new form of aggression and can have serious consequences. Although the influencing factors of cyberbullying have been explored in the literature, less is known of the longitudinal effects of relative deprivation on cyberbullying and the mediating mechanisms underlying the effect. In this study, we explored these problems. A total of 1143 undergraduates (62.9% women, mean age = 19.46, standard deviation [SD] = 0.95) participated in three rounds of a longitudinal survey with an interval of 6 months and completed a series of self-reported questionnaires assessing relative deprivation, revenge, and cyberbullying. The results of random intercept cross-lagged panel model showed that at between-person level, the random intercepts of relative deprivation, revenge, and cyberbullying were positively associated with each other. At within-person level, relative deprivation and revenge could predict each other over time, and revenge longitudinally predicted cyberbullying. Moreover, revenge mediated the longitudinal effect of relative deprivation on cyberbullying. The results support and develop the view of the general aggression model and deepen our understanding of the development mechanism of cyberbullying.

Cyber victimization and well-being in adolescents: The sequential mediation role of forgiveness and coping with cyberbullying

Cyber victimization is an important problem among adolescents and it can have negative effects on well-being. However, efforts to increase the well-being of cyber victims have been increasing in recent years. It is important to uncover the underlying mechanisms that may affect the well-being of cyber victims. This study used the transactional model of stress and coping theory as a conceptual framework, and proposed that hope and coping strategies are sequential mediators for the effects of cyber-victimization on well-being. A total of 337 students aged between 14 and 19 participated in this research (Mage = 16.56). We used the Cyber Victimization Scale, the Forgiveness Scale for Adolescents, the Scale for Coping with Cyber Bullying, and the Well-Being Scale as data collection tools. Pearson Correlation was used to examine the relationships between cyber victimization, coping with cyberbullying, well-being and forgiveness. Afterward, measurement modeling was done using AMOS 22.0 and the PROCESS macro was used for hypothesis testing. The results show that there is a negative relationship between cyber victimization and forgiveness, coping with cyberbullying, and well-being. In addition, forgiveness and coping with cyberbullying was found to have a sequential mediating effect on the relationship between cyber victimization and well-being. The research results provide information on how to increase the well-being of adolescents experiencing cyber victimization.

The impact of strain, constraints, and morality on different cyberbullying roles: A partial test of Agnew's general strain theory

The strain has been well studied in traditional bullying, and recent research has begun to explore it in cyberbullying behavior. Drawing from General Strain Theory, the current study empirically examined the relationship between strain and the cyberbullying behavior of perpetrators and bully-victims, respectively. Meanwhile, this study also considered the influences of the protective variables (e.g., constraints and morality) on the strain, which may potentially reduce the risks of participating in cyberbullying. The sample comprised 928 Chinese internet users (Male = 490, Female = 438) aged between 16 to 50. We identified the prevalence of cyberbullying in China, in which the percentages of cyberbullying perpetrators, cyberbullying victims, and cyber bully-victims were 23.40, 23.20, and 37.40%, respectively. This study mentioned a noteworthy phenomenon: cyberbullying victims quickly became cyberbullying perpetrators when they were cyberbullied. Secondly, according to the binary logistic regression, we hold that the strain was significantly related to cyberbullying behaviors, as individuals with low levels of self-control showed a higher tendency to participate in cyberbullying. As for protective factors, the results showed that constraints and morality can reduce the negative consequences of strain and then against cyberbullying, exploring the possibilities of using constraints and morality as variables to decrease strain and prevent cyberbullying. Thus, the unique values of this study are using the GST theory to investigate the empirical link between strain and cyberbullying between different roles in a new cultural and social background, demonstrating that negative emotion and low self-control had influences on strain and cyberbullying behaviors. Meanwhile, this study also contributes by discussing the implications for future research and practicing efforts targeting how to decrease the risks of cyberbullying engagement, for example, we suggest that the prevention and intervention of cyberbullying should adopt a cross-sectoral response to help individuals to view cyberbullying, vent dissatisfaction and relieve strain in the right way.

Cybervictimization and Depression among Adolescents: Coping Strategies as Mediators

Studies have shown the relationships among cybervictimization, coping strategies, and depression, but no study has examined the mechanism that links the three variables. Accordingly, this study used the transactional model of stress and coping theory as a conceptual framework and proposed that coping strategies are mediators for the effects of cybervictimization on depression. A total of 387 adolescents were recruited by using the purposive sampling method. The results showed that cybervictimization is not directly associated with depression. All the coping strategies are found to be associated with cybervictimization, but only the avoidant coping strategy is the statistical mediator for the effects of cybervictimization on depression. This study’s findings suggest that the transactional model of stress and coping theory may provide a framework in the area of cyberbullying and recommend more actions to be taken in order to reduce the use of avoidance coping strategies among victims of cyberbullying.