Effects of Overt and Relational Bullying on Adolescents' Subjective Well-Being: The Mediating Mechanisms of Social Capital and Psychological Capital

Victimization and cybervictimization: The role of school factors

INTRODUCTION

Victimization and cybervictimization can negatively affect the subjective experience of well-being. This effect can be mediated by school factors, even if a deep understanding of these factors still needs to be determined. The present study examined how peer network, teacher support, and school connectedness mediated the relationship between victimization, cybervictimization, and well-being. We developed two mediation models, considering victimization (Model 1) and cybervictimization (Model 2) as predictors, well-being as the outcome, peer network, teacher support, and school connectedness as parallel mediators, and gender as a covariate variable.

METHODS

The sample comprised 563 Italian students (Mage = 11.5; 45% females). Students filled out a purpose-built questionnaire investigating victimization and cybervictimization, peer network, teacher support, school connectedness, and well-being. Two multiple mediation models were run using Process.

RESULTS

The two models showed similar patterns [Model 1: F(8, 169) = 34.35, p ≤ .001, R2 = .34; Model 2: F(8, 169) = 40.13, p ≤ .001, R2 = .34]. Indeed, victimization (Model 1) and cybervictimization (Model 2) had negative significant effects on peer network, teacher support, and school connectedness. However, their direct effects on well-being were not significant, as peer network and school connectedness emerged as complete mediators between victimization (Model 1) and cybervictimization (Model 2) and well-being. Males displayed higher levels of well-being compared to females.

CONCLUSIONS

Peer network and school connectedness play a crucial role in mediating the impact of victimization and cybervictimization on well-being. Educators and policymakers should prioritize fostering supportive peer network and strengthening school connectedness to create an environment that mitigates the negative effects of victimization and cybervictimization, enhancing overall student well-being.

The moderating roles of resilience and social support in the relationships between bullying victimization and well-being among Chinese adolescents: Evidence from PISA 2018

Bullying victimization can undermine adolescents' well-being. However, few studies have comprehensively investigated the contributions of various victimization forms to well-being and compared which forms were more harmful than others. Evidence on whether resilience and social support moderate such associations is also limited. Using a sample of 12,058 Chinese adolescents in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, this cross-sectional study aimed to (1) investigate the associations of physical, verbal and relational victimization with well-being; (2) compare the strengths of these associations; and (3) examine the moderating roles of resilience and teacher and parent support in these associations. Results showed that three victimization forms were associated with poorer well-being. Relational and physical victimization were more harmful to most studied well-being outcomes than verbal victimization. Furthermore, resilience weakened the negative effects of physical victimization on negative affect and life satisfaction but aggravated the negative effects of verbal victimization on both outcomes and the negative effect of relational victimization on school belonging. Teacher support intensified the negative effects of physical victimization on school belonging. Parent support was not effective in regulating the victimization-well-being association. The findings underscored the detrimental effects of bullying victimization on adolescents' well-being and the potentially harmful sides of resilience and social support. Implications for bullying prevention were discussed.

Relational Victimization and Video Game Addiction among Female College Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Social Anxiety and Parasocial Relationship

Video game addiction, a common behavioral problem among college students, has been more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, females' video game usage has also attracted considerable research attention. Against this background and under the perspective of social interaction, this study aimed to examine the relationship between relational victimization and video game addiction among female college students, as well as its underlying mechanism-the mediating roles of social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters. Female college students (N = 437) were recruited to complete a set of questionnaires voluntarily in June 2022. Through the mediating effect analysis, the results found that (1) relational victimization was positively associated with female college students' video game addiction; (2) social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters could independently mediate this relation; (3) social anxiety and parasocial relationships with virtual characters were also the serial mediators in this association. These findings not only expand previous studies by revealing the social motivation of video game usage and the underlying mechanism accounting for video game addiction, but also provide basis and guidance for the prevention and intervention of video game addiction in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic.