From victimization of traditional bullying to perpetration of cyberbullying: the roles of moral disengagement, social support, and gender

The global concern over bullying has spurred extensive research among scholars on both traditional bullying and cyberbullying. This study aims to further explore the intrinsic connection between traditional bullying and cyberbullying, as well as the underlying mechanisms linking the two. A comprehensive survey was conducted among 705 young students from various universities across China. Through the analysis of questionnaire data, this study further investigated how moral disengagement, social support, and gender function in the relationship between being a victim of traditional bullying and perpetrating cyberbullying. The findings revealed that victims of traditional bullying are at a higher risk of engaging in cyberbullying. The analysis indicated that moral disengagement plays a mediating role in the relationship between traditional bullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration. Social support acts as a moderator, such that the relationship between traditional bullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration is stronger when the level of social support is higher. Additionally, gender moderates the relationship from moral disengagement to cyberbullying perpetration. The results of this study underscore the necessity for cyberbullying prevention programs to focus on victims of traditional bullying to prevent the escalation from traditional bullying to cyberbullying.