Parental conflict and cyberbullying among Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation analysis

Abstract

The current study investigated the relationship between parental conflict and cyberbullying, while examining the mediating role of social anxiety and the moderating role of perceived social support. A total of 1,187 Chinese adolescents (11–18 years of age (17.9% 7th graders, 27.1% 8th graders, 31.5% 10th graders, 23.5% 11th graders; Mage = 14.51, SDage = 1.59, 45% male) completed a cross-sectional questionnaire to test the relationships between parental conflict, social anxiety, perceived social support and cyberbullying. Our results suggest that parental conflict is positively correlated with adolescent cyberbullying, and that the association is partially mediated by social anxiety. Additionally, perceived social support moderates the both the direct and indirect associations between parental conflict and adolescent cyberbullying. In particular, the association between parental conflict and adolescent cyberbullying, as well as the relationship between social anxiety and adolescent cyberbullying are weaker among adolescents with high levels of perceived social support. In contrast, the association between parental conflict and adolescent social anxiety is stronger in adolescents with high levels of perceived social support.