Cyberbullying Victimization and a Sense of Purpose in Life Among College Students: A Mediation Model of Self-Esteem and Depressive Symptoms

ABSTRACT

This study examined the association between cyberbullying victimization and a sense of purpose in the life of college students, focusing on the mediating roles of self-esteem and depressive symptoms. A total of 251 students who had experienced bullying victimization and current cyberbullying victimization were analyzed. Our analysis showed that the direct association between cyberbullying victimization and a sense of purpose in life was not significant. However, self-esteem and depressive symptoms presented a mediated role in the study model. Moreover, the indirect association between cyberbullying victimization and a sense of purpose in life via the sequence of mediators was significant. The findings highlight future research direction and practice implications to deal with cyberbullying victimization in college settings.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Wichita State University [Award for Research/Creative Projects in Summer].

Notes on contributors

Eui Bhin Lee

Eui Bhin Lee, Ph.D., is a researcher in the Institute for Hope Research at Sogang University. Her research interests include family welfare, adjustment and development of children and adolescents, relationship between parenting style and children’s adjustment, and family diversity; moreover, she has recently expanded her research topics to emerging adulthood and young carers. She is also interested in quantitative research methodologies.

Jeoung Min Lee

Jeoung Min Lee, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the School of Education, Social Work, and Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Her research focuses on youth violence and bullying/cyberbullying victimization’s mental and behavioral health among ethnic and sexual minorities.

Yangjin Park

Yangjin Park, Ph.D., MSW, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Park’s research interests include violence and trauma, risk and resilience, mental health, and family therapy. His work aims to reduce violence and trauma among vulnerable populations.

Jaegoo Lee

Jaegoo Lee, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Jackson State University. She earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in 2006 and earned her Ph.D. in social work from the University of Georgia in 2012. Over 15 years, She has developed a series of research interests, including racial socialization among non-traditional families, adverse childhood experiences, violence, self-care, online education and evaluation, and technology and health disparities.

Mckenzie Stalnaker

McKenzie Stalnaker earned an MSW degree from Wichita State University in 2023. She conducted research with Dr. Jeoung Min Lee on the mental and behavioral health effects of bullying and cyberbullying victimization.

Jinwon Kim

Jinwon Kim, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Welfare at Hyupsung University in Hwaseong-si, Republic of Korea. His research focuses on bullying, peer victimization, social adaptation of adolescents, parenting attitude, and changing of family structure and type. He is interested in parent-child relationship, youth problems and adaptation, and welfare in family diversity.