Moderation Effects of Positive Core Belief and Social-Emotional Responsiveness on the Relationship Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Affective Symptoms

Abstract

Introduction

Medical students are a vulnerable population. Exposure to cyberbullying can aggravate stress and lead to affective disorders. Features that moderate the influence of this stressor have been under-studied in Thai context.

Materials and Methods

An annual survey on the mental health and stressors of medical students from 2021 was analyzed. Measures on cyberbullying victimization, psychosocial stressors, self-reported resilience measures (“problem solving”, “positive core belief”, “social emotional responsiveness”, and “perseverance”), and other covariates were assessed for their effects on affective symptoms using linear regression. Interaction analyses were then performed.

Results

A total of 303 cyberbullied respondents were included. In a linear regression model controlled for cyberbullying victimization score, perceived psychosocial difficulties, age, and academic year, positive core belief significantly predicted lower affective symptoms, while social-emotional responsiveness showed a trend toward predicting lower affective symptoms. Trend toward negative interaction was found for positive core belief, whereas an opposite trend was found for social-emotional responsiveness. Implications in the context of medical schools are also discussed.

Discussion

Positive core belief appears to be a resilience feature toward cyberbullying victimization in the studied population. Its effects were discussed from the perspective of cognitive-behavioral therapy. In the context of medical school, the belief could be fostered by creating a safe learning environment with readily available guidance. Social-emotional responsiveness is a protective factor toward cyberbullying victimization, although its trend toward negative interaction with cyberbullying victimization implies that this feature’s protective effect declines as intensity of the bullying increases.

Conclusion

Positive core belief is a potential resilience feature of cyberbullying victimization. On the other hand, the protective effect of social-emotional responsiveness appeared to decline with greater intensity of cyberbullying.

Keywords:

• depression
• anxiety
• irritability
• online bullying
• medical students

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

The study protocol was approved by the Srinakharinwirot University Ethical Committee for Human Research (identification number SWUEC/X-022/2564). The requirement for written informed consent was waived because the study reviewed anonymized survey data.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a research grant from the Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University.