Psycho-Social Correlates of Cyberbullying among Polish Adolescents

Abstract

Cyberbullying has recently attracted attention due to its increasing prevalence and serious consequences for both victims and perpetrators. The objective of this population-based study was to examine the determinants of a person becoming a perpetrator of cyberbullying, including personal resources (emotional self-regulation, self-esteem, internal locus of control, optimism), social skills (prosocial behavior, assertiveness, cognitive empathy, cooperation), peer relationships (peer support, threats from peers, peer rejection, dislike of peers), and problematic Internet use (excessive Internet use, impulsive reactions to Internet deprivation). Participants (N = 541) were students at elementary schools (age 14–15) in Ostroleka, a city in central-eastern Poland. Two-part regression was used to explore protective/risk factors of the likelihood of an individual using cyberviolence (dichotomous part: involvement in violence) and how often it is used (continuous part: frequency of cyberbullying). The results showed that the emotional component is crucial to cyberbullying, as indicated by the importance of emotional self-control, which reduces the frequency of cyberbullying. Other important factors are assertiveness, impulsive response to limited Internet access (which increases the likelihood of engaging in cyberbullying) and fear of peers (which reduces its frequency). In turn, the importance of pro-sociality (which inhibits engagement) and peer support (which promotes engagement) points to the second important component of cyberbullying—that is, group mechanisms. At the same time, the results indicate that while the importance of Internet addiction as a risk factor for cyberbullying should not be underestimated, the amount of time spent online cannot be seen as the source of the problem. The study leads to the conclusion that effective interventions targeting cyberbullying should focus on the development of more adaptive styles of coping with emotions.