Aggressive communication style as predictor of cyberbullying, emotional wellbeing, and personal moral beliefs in adolescence

Different forms of verbal aggression are often presented in cyberbullying and are used to harm others in online communication. This study proposed to understand the influence of an aggressive communication style on adolescents’ intentions to engage in cyberbullying, their emotional well-being, and p...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Pereira, Nádia, C. Ferreira, Paula, Veiga Simão, Ana Margarida, Paulino, Paula, Oliveira, Sofia, Mora Merchán, Joaquín Antonio
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repository:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/147190
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/147190
https://doi.org/10.5093/psed2021a11
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Adolescents
Behavioral intentions
Cyberbullying
Emotional well-being
Personal moral beliefs
Adolescentes
Intención acerca de un comportamiento
Ciberacoso
Bienestar emocional
Creencias morales personales
Description
Summary:Different forms of verbal aggression are often presented in cyberbullying and are used to harm others in online communication. This study proposed to understand the influence of an aggressive communication style on adolescents’ intentions to engage in cyberbullying, their emotional well-being, and personal moral beliefs. A convenience sample of 218 adolescents ( Mage = 14.67, SD = 0.84, 53% girls) in Portugal responded to questionnaires. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to test mediating effects. An aggressive communication style may lead adolescents to perceive cyberbullying behavior as fair, and to decrease their emotional well-being. Moreover, this communication style may contribute to adolescents’ intentions to engage in cyberbullying, and whether they believe this type of behavior is fair or unfair may determine those intentions. These findings contribute to an understanding of determiners of cyberbullying and the provision of insights to develop school interventions in this field