Poster #237 - Do Social Ties Moderate the Longitudinal Relationships Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Internalizing Problems?

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Technology, Media & Child Development

Integrative Statement

Bullying victimization in general and cyberbullying victimization specifically is known to have an impact on internalizing problems among adolescents (Aoyama, Saxon, & Fearon, 2010). Social ties and support networks may mitigate the effects of these traumatic events on internalizing distress (Davidson & Demaray, 2007).
Goals: The current accelerated two-cohort (6th and 7th grades) longitudinal study, aims to test these relationships in on a sample of 586 adolescents (58% female, Mage at T1 = 12.34, SD = 0.88); students were recruited from 9 schools from a medium size city in the Czech Republic, and were followed over the course of 2 years, assessed four times.
Methods: Internalizing problems were measured by Weinberger’s Adjustment Inventory (based on low self-esteem, low well-being, anxiety, depressive symptoms subscales; Weinberger & Schwartz, 1990; α ranged from .81 to .83 across waves). Cyberbullying victimization was measured by 4 items asking about past 2 month’s frequency of been insulted or hurt by other students through text messages, emails, phone calls, or videos (Gradinger, Strohmeier, & Spiel, 2010; α = .91 to .97). Social ties were measured separately for peers, parents, and teachers. Peer ties were assessed with the Engagement subscale of Social Skills Improvement System (Gresham & Elliott, 2007; α = .70 to .79). Parental ties were measured by the Maternal Support subscale of Adolescent Family Processes scale (Vazsonyi, Hibbert, & Snider, 2003, α range: 76 - .80). Teacher ties were measured by the teacher support subscale of the Social and Health Assessment (Weissberg, Voyce, Kasprow, Arthur, & Shriver, 1991; α range = .65 - .69).
Hypotheses: Three cross-lagged path models were specified which tested the reciprocal relationships among cyberbullying victimization, internalizing problems, and each of the 3 social ties (see Figure 1). It was hypothesized that bullying victimization would be positively associated with increased internalizing symptoms over time, and that the social contexts would serve as a moderator of this relationship, reducing the magnitude of the effects between victimization and internalizing problems. Models controlled for age, sex, and SES at Wave 1.
Results: Study findings provide partial support for the hypotheses. Being a victim of cyberbullying had a positive effect on subsequent internalizing problems; between Waves 2 and 3, and this relationship was moderated by peer ties (the effect of bullying on internalizing problems was weaker at higher levels of peer engagement; see Figures 1 and 2). Moderating effects by parental or teacher ties were not supported by the data. Additional findings included internalizing problems at wave 2 predicting more cyberbullying victimization by Wave 3, internalizing problems at all waves predicting higher perceived maternal support by the next wave, and perceived teacher support at waves 2 and 3 predicting lower internalizing problems by waves 3 and 4 respectively.
Conclusions: In conclusion, positive peer relationships seem to serve as a protective buffer from the effects of cyberbullying victimization on internalizing problems. More research is warranted to understand the specific aspects of the friendship ties that mitigate the cyberbullying trauma.

Authors

• Jakub Mikuska, University of Kentucky
  Presenting Author

• Marek Blatný, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alexander T Vazsonyi, University of Kentucky
  Non-Presenting Author