Cyberbullying victimization and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among college students: mediating role of negative coping and moderating role of perceived control.

Although cyberbullying victimization has been shown to be related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this association. This study examined the mediating role of negative coping and the moderating role of perceived control in the association between cyberbullying victimization and PTSD symptoms. A cross-sectional sample of 749 college students (Mage = 19.39, SD = 1.32) completed a questionnaire, which included measures of cyberbullying victimization, negative coping, perceived control, and PTSD symptoms. Results showed that cyberbullying victimization was positively associated with PTSD symptoms. Mediation modeling indicated that cyberbullying victimization not only directly affected PTSD symptoms but could indirectly affect PTSD symptoms through the mediating role of negative coping. In addition, the mediation role of negative coping was moderated by perceived control. Specifically, the path from negative coping to PTSD symptoms became weakened when college students had higher perceived control. These findings advance our understanding of how and when cyberbullying victimization is related to PTSD symptoms among college students. Limitations and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Current Psychology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)