Cyberbullying victimization and depression among children: Self-perceived social competence as a mediator and optimism as a moderator

Abstract

Abstract Cyberbullying victimization is becoming more prevalent and adversely affects mental health. It is essential to explore the relationship between the two variables and the underlying mechanism, especially for children, as the impact of mental health in childhood might last a lifetime. Thus, the current research focused on the relationship and the underlying mechanism. Primary school students (N = 344; Mage = 9.90; 43.90% girls) completed self-report questionnaires regarding cyberbullying victimization, self-perceived social competence, optimism, and depression at school. Gender and grade were controlled as covariates. Depression was positively predicted by cyberbullying victimization. Besides, self-perceived social competence played a partially mediating role. In addition, optimism directly and indirectly moderated the effects of cyberbullying victimization on depression. Specifically, the effects were stronger for children with low levels of optimism. Therefore, efforts to enhance children's self-perceived social competence and optimism may beneficial to reduce children’s depression resulted by cyberbullying victimization.