The association between domestic violence exposure and cyberbullying behavior among secondary school students

Cyberbullying could have a severe and long-term impact on the physical and mental health of secondary school students because of its characteristics of being hidden, repetitive, and exceeding the limitations of time and space, thus attracting widespread attention. Among the many environmental factors, family was the immediate environment where secondary school students live. Violent behaviors such as aggression displayed by other subjects in the family environment could trigger aggressive behaviors among secondary school students, and the indirectness of the online environment intensifies this tendency.

This study used the Cyberbullying Scale, the Domestic Violence Exposure Scale, the Depression Scale, and the Brief Self-Control Scale to conduct a questionnaire survey of 10,273 secondary school students in 12 secondary schools from Liaoning, Zhejiang, and Henan provinces in China to explore the relationship and internal mechanisms between domestic violence exposure and cyberbullying behavior among secondary school students.

This study found that (1) domestic violence exposure has a significant positive associated with cyberbullying behavior among secondary school students; (2) the mediating effect of depression partially exists between domestic violence exposure and cyberbullying behavior among secondary school students; (3). self-control alleviated the effects of domestic violence exposure on cyberbullying among secondary school students but intensified the effects of depression on cyberbullying among secondary school students.

The results suggest that while focusing on the association of domestic violence exposure with cyberbullying among secondary school students, it is also necessary to pay attention to the mediating effect of depression and the mitigating and intensifying mechanisms of self-control, resulting in a notable weakening effect on cyberbullying among secondary school students.