BACKGROUND
Cyberbullying has become a growing public health concern that threatens the physical and mental health of young people worldwide. Despite a rising call for more research on victims of cyberbullying, there is still limited understanding of the psychological and behavioral mechanism underlying cyberbullying victimization (CV), especially among the Chinese population. However, such information is crucial for identifying potential victims and planning targeted educational and protective interventions.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to explore the relationship between attachment anxiety (AA), social media self-disclosure (SMSD) and CV among Chinese college students and to examine the moderating role of gender.
METHODS
A web-based questionnaire was constructed to assess AA, SMSD, and CV with validated scales. Mediation analysis, t-tests, moderation analysis, and moderated mediation analysis were performed and bootstrap method was used to estimate bias-corrected confidence interval.
RESULTS
The sample consisted of 845 Chinese college students who used social media (female=635, mean age =18.7 years old). AA had a weak but statistically significant positive effect on CV (β=.06, t=2.652, p=.008), partially mediated by SMSD (β=.008, p<.001, 95%CI=[0.001, 0.018]), 14.5% of total effect). Gender moderated the second stage of the mediation path, namely the SMSD-CV path (β=-.095, t=-2.195, p=.029) as well as the direct AA-CV path (β=.062, t=2.38, p=.018). Males displayed a stronger direct effect of AA on CV whereas females showed a stronger indirect effect of AA on CV mediated through SMSD.
CONCLUSIONS
High AA is associated with high CV in Chinese college students and hence should be attended to in interventions targeting cyberbullying victims. In females, after accounting for SMSD, the AA-CV relationship is no longer significant, which means educating females on risks of excessive and indiscreet SMSD may suffice to mitigate the increased risk of CV brought about by high AA. However, the mechanism underlying males’ AA-CV relationship warrants more research in the future. The model resulting from this research should be a starting point for developing more sophisticated tools for surveilling and protecting potential victims of cyberbullying.
