Cyberbullying and Psychological Well-being in Young Adolescence: The Potential Protective Mediation Effects of Social Support from Family, Friends, and Teachers

Abstract

In the current study, we tested the relations between cyberbullying roles and several psychological well-being outcomes, as well as the potential mediation effect of perceived social support from family, friends, and teachers in school. This was investigated in a cross-sectional sample of 1707 young adolescents (47.5% girls, aged 10–13 years, self-reporting via a web questionnaire) attending community and private schools in a mid-sized municipality in Sweden. We concluded from our results that the Cyberbully-victim group has the highest levels of depressive symptoms, and the lowest of subjective well-being and family support. We also observed higher levels of anxiety symptoms in both the Cyber-victims and the Cyberbully-victims. Moreover, we conclude that some types of social support seem protective in the way that it mediates the relationship between cyberbullying and psychological well-being. More specifically, perceived social support from family and from teachers reduce the probability of depressive and anxiety symptoms, and higher levels of social support from the family increase the probability of higher levels of subjective well-being among youths being a victim of cyberbullying (i.e., cyber-victim) and being both a perpetrator and a victim of cyber bullying (i.e., cyberbully-victim). Potential implications for prevention strategies are discussed.

Cyberbullying Victimization and Adolescent Depression: The Mediating Role of Psychological Security and the Moderating Role of Growth Mindset

“…The relevant studies also found a significant increase in the prevalence rate of depression in adolescence [18]. At the same time, due to the high frequency and intensity of adolescents' online activities, cyberbullying victimization is relatively more pervasive among adolescents [3,17]. Thus, this study aimed to examine the association between cyberbullying victimization and depression among adolescents, and it was also hypothesized that cyberbullying victimization was positively associated with depression (H1).…”

“…Cyberbullying refers to intentional, repetitive, hostile, or aggressive behaviors to inflict harm or discomfort on others through electronic or digital media, such as e-mails, instant messaging, and social networking sites [1,2]. Recently, it has become a serious social problem and public health concern around the world due to the seriously detrimental influences of cyberbullying victimization (i.e., being victimized online) on individual social adaptation and well-being [3][4][5]. At the same time, depression is a common psychological problem with high prevalence [6], which has been found to be a great risk factor for individual health and well-being.…”

“…For cyberbullying, as a specific form and extension of bullying in online space, though it is different from the bullying in real life (or traditional bullying), being bullied by others online is also a negative and stressful experience in social interaction [5]. In particular, because of the unique features of cyberbullying (such as the anonymity of the bully, the publicity of the bullying behaviors, and the widespread information used to bully), being bullied online is even more stressful than being bullied traditionally, and thus cyberbullying victimization may induce more serious consequences [3,4]. Empirical research also found that cyberbullying victimization was associated with some psychological problems (e.g., depression) [2,3,17].…”

Traits, Trends, and Trajectory of Tween and Teen Cyberbullies

“…Social support works as a protective shield in stressful situations by offering a soft place to land on in stressful times for youth. Adolescents identified sharing the bullying situation with a friend as a helpful coping strategy [41]. Strong family support where open communication is practiced between family members and emotional support provided with moral guidance along with healthy social support from teachers can validate and reinforce positive behavior and values in kids.…”

“…Cyberbullies experienced more physical symptoms, while cyber victims dealt with more psychological distress [42]. The adolescents who have been in the cyberbully-victim group exhibit the highest levels of depressive symptoms, and the lowest levels of family support and subjective well-being [41].…”