Effects of Cyberbullying Exposure on Emotional Regulation and Mental Health in Adolescents

Cyberbullying has become an important concern for adolescent well-being because online harassment can continue beyond school settings and expose young people to repeated social stress. This study examined the relationships between cyberbullying exposure, emotion-regulation strategies, and mental health among adolescents. A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design was used with 100 secondary-school adolescents aged 13-18 years (M = 15.42, SD = 1.38). Measures included the Cyber-Victimization Scale (CYBVICS), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and Early Adolescent Mental Health Scale (EAMHS). Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations, and simple linear regression analyses were reported. Cyberbullying exposure was negatively correlated with cognitive reappraisal (r = -.42, p < .001) and mental health (r = -.58, p < .001), and positively correlated with expressive suppression (r = .48, p < .001). Cognitive reappraisal was positively associated with mental health (r = .51, p < .001), whereas expressive suppression was negatively associated with mental health (r = -.46, p < .001). Regression analysis indicated that cyberbullying exposure accounted for 33.6% of the variance in mental-health scores, R? = .336, F(1, 98) = 49.68, p < .001. The findings indicate meaningful associations among online victimization, emotion regulation, and adolescent well-being. Because the study is cross-sectional and relies on self-report measures, the findings do not establish causality.