A longitudinal study of cyberbullying: Examining riskand protective factors

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to examine possible risk (school-bullying and victimization, exposure to media violence, callous-unemotional traits, impulsivity and narcissism) and protective (family, peer and school social support) factors that might be associated with cyberbullying and cyber-victimization by employing a longitudinal, two-wave design. The sample consisted of 1,416 (50.1% girls) adolescents living in Cyprus. The findings suggested cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between school-bullying and cyberbullying and between school-victimization and cyber-victimization. Furthermore, callous-unemotional traits were longitudinally related to cyberbullying. Media violence exposure was a risk factor leading to both cyberbullying and cyber-victimization, while family social support was a protective factor for both types of adjustment problems. Finally, family social support protected adolescents living in single-parent households from being cyber-victimized when their friendships were not supportive.

Keywords:

• Cyberbullying
• Cyber-victimization
• Psychopathic traits
• Social support
• Media violence exposure

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Veronica V. Hawa

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG) under Grant Agreement No. 224903.