Cyberbullying and social rejection

Today, we’re looking at three studies related to cyberbehaviors. First, Scott & Barlett (2025) published “Traumatizing Others and Getting Traumatized Online: Examining the mediating influences of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization via the Integrative Cyberbullying Theory” in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Here’s the edited abstract

The current literature and theorizing on cyberbehaviors (cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization) are largely separate—primarily focusing on one cyberbehavior in lieu of the other. Our objective was to conduct a cross-sectional study to test a new theory: the Integrative Cyberbullying Theory. Emerging adults (N = 767) completed measures of our predictors (time spent online, narcissism, anonymity, and cyberbullying attitudes), cyberbehaviors, and outcomes (depression, anxiety, loneliness, and anger).Results showed that (a) cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization were strongly positively correlated, (b) both cyberbehaviors significantly correlated with every predictor and outcome assessed, and (c) the cyberbehaviors mediated certain relationships between the predictors and outcomes. We supported the Integrative Cyberbullying Theory postulates and then discussed these results from a theoretical lens. 

The purpose of the present study was to provide initial data focused on a new cyberbullying theory that explicates those predictors and outcomes germane to cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. This has implications for intervention specialists, therapists, and others who attempt to address the deleterious effects of cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization. 

It made sense to me that bullying perpetration and victimization are related and looking at them in the cyberworld is important. This is a large sample with fascinating findings. The next study looks at social rejection. Dejoie, Ruiz, Brudner & Fareri (2024) published “Social Rejection Amplifies the Value of Choice” in Emotion. The edited abstract follows:

Social rejection has been routinely associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes. However, less is known about how social rejection impacts cognitive processes, including our decision-making abilities. This is critical to understand, given how ubiquitous experiences of rejection have become in the current era of social media. In this preregistered study, we hypothesized that social rejection would amplify the value of choice. Participants made choices about whether to participate in a lottery themselves or defer the choice to a computer across a series of interactions with purported anonymous peers who provided varying degrees of positive (e.g., likes) and negative (e.g., dislikes) feedback to simulate experiences of rejection and acceptance. Subjective experiences of affect and the likelihood of future social engagement with peers were measured. Following experiences of rejection, results revealed that participants were more likely to want to choose for themselves rather than defer the choice to the computer. However, negative affect modulated this pattern, such that when participants reported feeling worse during the task after rejection, they were more likely to defer choice to the computer. Further, negative affect significantly predicted participant’s willingness to engage in future social behavior with their partners and individual differences in social symptoms (e.g., social anxiety and the need to belong) were significantly related to choice behavior. Taken together, our findings suggest that experience of social rejection can negatively impact our affective states, perceptions of others, and the degree to which we value choice. 

I liked this study because it examines social rejection on social media. I found it fascinating that, if you’re rejected, your first impulse is to want to make your own choices but, if you also feel negative affect, you give your choice to the computer and are more likely to have social anxiety. The final study returns to perpetration. Yang, Li, Dong, Gao & Wang (2022) published “The Moderating Roles of Peer Pressure and Family Economic Stress in the Longitudinal Links Between Adolescent Trait Anger and Cyberbullying Perpetration” in School Psychology. The edited abstract is as follows:

In adolescence, individuals are at high risk for cyberbullying perpetration. Although the role of trait anger in cyberbullying perpetration has attracted attention in the research literature, it is unclear the temporal sequence between trait anger and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration and whether stressful environments could interact synergistically with trait anger to create a profile of the particularly severe risk to adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration. This study contributed to existing knowledge by examining the longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between trait anger and cyberbullying perpetration and exploring whether peer pressure and family economic stress would moderate these relationships across 2 years (3 time points) with a cohort of Chinese adolescents (N = 2,407, Mage = 12.75 at baseline). The cross-lagged model revealed that prior trait anger was associated with later self-reported cyberbullying perpetration (βT1 → T2 = 0.09 and βT2 → T3 = 0.10), whereas earlier self-reported cyberbullying perpetration was not associated with subsequent trait anger.Peer pressure moderated the link between trait anger and self-reported cyberbullying perpetration. Family economic stress did not play a moderating role in the link between trait anger and self-reported cyberbullying perpetration. Findings suggest that cyberbullying perpetration prevention and intervention programs should attach importance to adolescents’ trait anger and the way of getting along with their peers. 

Another huge sample with interesting findings about the relationship between trait anger and cyberbullying perpetration. It’s not surprising but points to the importance of the combination of trait anger and peer pressure. I found each of these studies helpful in a world in which hate and cyberbullying are increasingly common.