Effect of Cyberbullying Victimization Experience on Aggressive Intervention: A Moderated Mediation Model of Depression and Gender

The current study developed a moderated mediation model to investigate the relationship between cyberbullying victimization experience and aggressive intervention and its potential mechanism. A total of 1,129 undergraduate students from five universities in China (mean age = 19.57, SD = 1.37; 513 females) completed a series of questionnaires, including the Cyberbullying Victimization Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, subscale of aggressive intervention, and Chinese short version of the Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Questionnaire. The results showed that cyberbullying victimization experience positively predicted aggressive intervention. Depression partially mediated the association between cyberbullying victimization experience and aggressive intervention. Gender differences and gender interaction also existed in this study. Specifically, males engaged in more aggressive intervention than females; however, the mediating effect of depression was stronger in females, and cyberbullying victimization experience predicted more robust in males than in females. In conclusion, the present study revealed the risk factors for aggressive intervention and that female bystanders with experience of cyberbullying victimization were more likely to attack perpetrators.