Cyberbullying Victimization and Social Anxiety: Mediating Effects with Moderation

Abstract

Cyberbullying experiences are considered an important factor contributing to social anxiety among college students. However, potential mediators of the relationship between cyberbullying and social anxiety, which may strengthen or weaken this relationship, are unclear. The present study examined the mediating role of self-esteem and appearance anxiety, as well as the moderating role of gender. A total of 269 college students participated in a questionnaire survey on cyberbullying victimization, appearance anxiety, self-esteem, and social anxiety, and 240 valid questionnaires were obtained, including 71 from males and 169 from females. The results show that cyberbullying victimization was significantly and positively correlated with appearance anxiety and social anxiety; appearance anxiety was significantly and positively correlated with social anxiety; and self-esteem was significantly and negatively correlated with social anxiety. Cyberbullying victimization mainly affects college students’ social anxiety in two ways: the mediating role of appearance anxiety and the sequential mediating role of appearance anxiety and self-esteem. In addition, gender plays a moderating role between self-esteem and social anxiety. We discussed the practical implications of the current study and measures of behavioral interventions for college students.