Impact of Cyber Aggression and Cyber Victimization on Mental Health and Well-Being of Pakistani Young Adults: The Moderating Role of Gender

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present study was conducted to investigate the impact of cyber aggression and cyber victimization on the mental health and well-being of young adults. The sample consisted of 508 young adults, ages ranging from 18 to 25 years (mean±SD = 20.53 ± 1.77 years, 68.5% female). The data were collected from young adults studying at various universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. The participants completed the Cyberbullying and Cyber Victimization Scales, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21), and The Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). The results showed a significant effect of cyber victimization on mental health and well-being. After controlling for the effect of age, gender, and residential status (staying at hostel vs. home), the cyber victimization significantly negatively predicted the well-being and significantly positively predicted mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress). In contrast, cyber aggression appeared to have a nonsignificant impact on both the mental health and well-being of young adults. Furthermore, the moderating role of gender was assessed for the effect of cyber victimization on mental health. The results revealed that the effect of cyber victimization is moderated by gender only on anxiety. Findings suggest that females are more vulnerable to develop anxiety due to cyber victimization as compared to their male counterparts. The findings of the study have important theoretical and practical implications and suggest the inclusion of some gender-specific strategies to develop counseling programs to save young adults from the negative psychological and emotional impacts of cyber victimization.