Overlapping Bullying Victimization and Cyberbullying Victimization among College Students during Covid-19

Overview: The study examined whether parental care and family support moderate the association between college students who have bullying victimization during their previous schooling and cyberbullying victimization. Findings revealed that bullying victimization was positively associated with cyberbullying victimization. Moreover, parental care was a significant moderator between bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization.Proposal text: Background
During the Covid-19 pandemic, college students spend more time in cyberspace to maintain social relationships and for educational purposes, leading to an increase in the risk of cyberbullying victimization. Although cyberbullying is an extension of traditional bullying, few studies have examined the overlap of traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization and their specific risk/protective factors. Probing associations with traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization is crucial because youth who have been bullied in school often suffer psychological (e.g., depression or low self-esteem) or physical (somatic symptoms) problems that can lead to a lack of confidence and fear or vulnerability in social relationships (deLara, 2019; Juvonen et al., 2003; Peled, 2019). This, in turn, may increase the possibility of suffering victimization in cyberspace. The current study investigated the association between previous school bullying experiences and cyberbullying victimization in college. It also considered whether parental care and family support decreased the risk of cyber victimization.
Method
The data were collected using self-report questionnaires through a web-based survey platform from June 4, 2021, through June 12, 2021. A total of 261 students completed the questionnaire. The independent variable was bullying victimization, the dependent variable was cyberbullying victimization, and parental care and family support were moderators. To examine the main research questions, a latent moderated structural equations (LMS) model was employed (Maslowsky et al., 2015) using Mplus 8.0.
Results
There was a significant association between bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization, after controlling for biological sex and age. In addition, there was a significant association between parental care and cyberbullying victimization. Parental care had a significant moderating effect on the association between bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization (B=-.01, SE = .003, p