The Impact of Cyberbullying Victimization on Internet Gaming Addiction Among College Students: The Mediating Roles of Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration, and the Moderating Role of Parental Autonomy Support

Yan Zhang,1,* Jinhui Zhou,1,2,* Fei Wang,3 Ying Chen,1 Xin Zhou,1 Yuxian Yan,1 Jiaming Luo1,4 1School of Psychiatry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Mental Health Center, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jiaming Luo, School of Psychiatry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]: Research on the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and Internet gaming addiction in China is limited, while the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Based on the Self-Determination Theory, this study establishes a moderated mediation model to test the mediating roles of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration between cyberbullying victimization and Internet gaming addiction, as well as the moderating role of parental autonomy support in this mediating effect.Methods: 2819 college students were surveyed using self-reported questionnaires about cyberbullying victimization, basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration, parental autonomy support, and Internet gaming addiction. SPSS 24.0 was utilized to analyze the correlations between variables, and Amos 24.0 was employed to test the structural equation model of this study.Results: Cyberbullying victimization was found to significantly predict Internet gaming addiction positively. Basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration played partial mediating roles between cyberbullying victimization and Internet gaming addiction respectively. Parental autonomy support further moderated the first half of the mediated model pathway. Specifically, the impact of cyberbullying victimization on basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration are more obvious among college students with high level of parental autonomy support.Conclusion: The findings advance our understanding of how cyberbullying victimization affects Internet gaming addiction.Within the college environment, reducing cyberbullying victimization could prevent Internet gaming addiction. Furthermore, enhancing basic psychological need satisfaction, reducing basic psychological need frustration, and reinforcing parental autonomy support among college students who have experienced cyberbullying would be effective to prevent Internet gaming addiction.Keywords: Cyberbullying victimization, internet gaming addiction, basic psychological need, parental autonomy support