Longitudinal associations among neuroticism, depression, and cyberbullying in early adolescents

Abstract

The role of personality characteristics in cyberbullying has attracted increasing attention in the research literature, but the temporal sequences and possible psychological mechanisms linking personality characteristics and cyberbullying remain unclear. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal associations between neuroticism and cyberbullying (perpetration and victimization), taking into account depression as a potential mediator and gender as a moderator of the association. A sample of 3961 Chinese early adolescents (56.1% boys; age: M = 10.85 years, SD = 0.75) completed multiple measurements of the relevant constructs on three occasions at six-month intervals. The results showed that neuroticism and depression were reciprocally related. Neuroticism directly predicted subsequent cyberbullying victimization, and depression predicted both subsequent cyberbullying perpetration and cyberbullying victimization. Neither cyberbullying perpetration nor victimization predicted subsequent neuroticism or depression. Depression mediated the relation from neuroticism to subsequent cyberbullying (perpetration and victimization). Finally, gender differences did not moderate any of the longitudinal relations among neuroticism, depression, and cyberbullying (perpetration and victimization). These findings add to the literature on neuroticism and cyberbullying in early adolescents by demonstrating the presence of longitudinal associations mediated by depression. Implications for interventions to reduce the risk of cyberbullying (perpetration and victimization) among early adolescents were discussed.