Witnessing family violence and adolescent cyberbullying perpetration: A longitudinal moderated mediation model involving anger dysregulation and teacher support

Abstract

BackgroundFamily violence has been shown to be associated with traditional adolescent bullying perpetration. However, few studies have considered the association between witnessing family violence and adolescent bullying perpetration in cyberspace. ObjectiveThe present study aimed to reveal the mechanism explaining the association between witnessing family violence and adolescent cyberbullying perpetration by testing the mediating effect of anger dysregulation and the moderating effect of teacher support. Participants and settingParticipants were 751 Chinese adolescents (Mage at Time 1 = 13.25) who completed the measures of witnessing family violence, anger dysregulation, cyberbullying perpetration, and teacher support at three time points over the year. MethodsStructural equation modeling was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of witnessing family violence on adolescent cyberbullying perpetration through anger dysregulation as a mediator and perceived teacher support as a moderator. ResultsThe results showed that witnessing family violence at baseline positively predicted adolescent cyberbullying perpetration at T3, and anger dysregulation at T2 partially mediated this association. The positive relation between witnessing family violence and later anger dysregulation was stronger for adolescents who perceived higher levels of teacher support. ConclusionsWitnessing family violence could increase the risk for adolescent cyberbullying perpetration, with anger dysregulation mediating this association. The protective effect of perceived teacher support weakens as the levels of witnessing family violence increase. These findings offer insight into the connection between witnessing family violence and adolescent bullying perpetration in the digital age, emphasizing the importance of promoting programs to prevent intrafamilial violence.