Department of Psychology, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut, USA.
Department of Psychology, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA.
Aggress Behav. 2022 Jan;48(1):40-54. doi: 10.1002/ab.21992. Epub 2021 Aug 26.
Existing research on cyberbullying has primarily focused on adolescents in cross-sectional survey studies, with less research focusing on college students or employed adults over longer periods of time. To extend this literature, the current study examined new predictors and outcomes of cyberbullying perpetration (CP) and victimization (CV) among college students from two different universities that were followed across two time points. Risk factors were measured in line with previous theoretical models, including biological or personality-related variables (e.g., low self-control, dark-side personality traits, empathy) and environmental variables (e.g., perceived social support, lack of rule clarity, and internet use). Additionally, we examined several possible outcomes of CV and CP. Results from path analyses revealed that involvement with traditional bullying (either as a perpetrator or a victim) as well as Machiavellianism significantly predicted CV and CP. With regard to the cross-lagged associations between CV and CP, we found that Time 1 CV predicted time 2 CP, but Time 1 CP did not predict Time 2 CV. That is, being a victim of cyberbullying during the Fall semester predicted involvement as a perpetrator in the Spring semester. However, being a perpetrator during the Fall semester did not predict being a victim during the Spring semester. Regarding outcomes, we found that CV significantly predicted anxiety, depression, and helping behavior, and CP significantly predicted deviant behavior, but not GPA nor alcohol consumption. These findings have practical implications for college students as well as university student support services.
现有关于网络欺凌的研究主要集中在横断面调查研究中的青少年，而较少关注大学生或成年员工在较长时间内的情况。为了扩展这一文献，本研究考察了两所不同大学的大学生在两个时间点进行的网络欺凌行为（CP）和受害（CV）的新预测因素和结果。风险因素是根据先前的理论模型来衡量的，包括生物或个性相关变量（例如，自我控制能力低、阴暗人格特质、同理心）和环境变量（例如，感知社会支持、规则清晰度缺乏和互联网使用）。此外，我们还研究了 CV 和 CP 的几个可能结果。路径分析的结果表明，传统欺凌行为（无论是作为施害者还是受害者）以及马基雅维利主义显著预测了 CV 和 CP。关于 CV 和 CP 之间的交叉滞后关联，我们发现，第 1 时间点的 CV 预测了第 2 时间点的 CP，但第 1 时间点的 CP 并没有预测第 2 时间点的 CV。也就是说，在秋季学期成为网络欺凌的受害者，预测了在春季学期作为施害者的参与。然而，在秋季学期作为施害者，并不预示着在春季学期成为受害者。关于结果，我们发现，CV 显著预测了焦虑、抑郁和帮助行为，CP 显著预测了偏差行为，但不能预测 GPA 或酒精消费。这些发现对大学生以及大学学生支持服务具有实际意义。
