Associations Between Peer Relationships and Cyber Aggression: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Results of associations between positive or negative peer relationships and cyber aggression are inconclusive. Thus, this study performed two separate three-level meta-analytic models to synthesize existing researches with the goal of obtaining reliable estimates of effect sizes and conducting moderator analyses. The results revealed a significant negative association between positive dimension and cyber aggression, and a significant positive correlation between negative dimension and cyber aggression. Furthermore, publication prestige moderated the association between positive dimension and cyber aggression. The age, culture, measurements for cyber aggression and study design were found to be significant moderators of the association between negative dimension and cyber aggression. In summary, positive peer relationships may be protective factors for cyber aggression, while negative peer relationships might be risk factors for developing cyber aggression.