The Impact of Suffering from Cyberbullying on Individual Mental Health: The Moderating Role of Personality

Abstract: As the rapid development of networking, cyberbullying has become a widely concerned topic since it happens quite often. Suffering from cyberbullying (cybervictimization) may have negative impact on victims mental health. However, different people may be influenced differently according to some factors. Considering the moderating effect of personalities in the mental discomfort caused by cyberbullying. This study collects the participants data (n = 201) from Beijing and Guizhou throughout the internet, focusing on the victims and using moderating effect analysis to find out whether the Big five personality traits has moderated the effect people hurt by cyberbullying. The study finds out that neuroticism is the only moderator. That means, for those who both suffered from cyberbullying, people higher in neuroticism may suffer more severer mental discomfort than those who are low. In nutshell, when faced with cyberbullying, high-level neuroticism people may be easier to get mental hurt. In counseling and intervention efforts dealing with those who suffered from cyberbullying, people should spend more time caring those who are high in neuroticism, since they are more vulnerable and susceptible to this type of violence.