The Relationship between Dark Personality Traits and Cyber Aggression with the Mediating Role of Showing off Online in Cyberspace in Adolescents

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between dark personality traits and cyber aggression through the mediation of showing off online in cyberspace in adolescents. The research design used descriptive correlation and structural equation modeling. The statistical population comprised all male students in the second year of middle school in Tabriz, Iran, in the academic year 2023-2024, of which 327 people were selected as a sample by random cluster sampling. The tools used in this research included the cyber aggression scale for adolescents by Alvarez Garcia et al., Chu and Farren's self-disclosure scale, and Jonason and Webster's dark personality traits. Pearson correlation method and structural equation modeling were used for data analysis. The results showed that dark personality traits have a direct and significant relationship with cyber aggression and Showing off online. Also, the results indicated that Showing off online in cyberspace plays a mediating role in the relationship between dark personality traits and cyber aggression. It is suggested that mental health professionals, through training and cognitive-behavioral interventions, inject new insight into the abilities and improve the self-esteem of adolescents who Show off online in cyberspace.