Frontiers in Psychology (Jan 2025)

Cybervictimization and emotional symptoms in adolescents: mediating role of psychological flexibility versus inflexibility

  • María del Mar Molero Jurado,
  • África Martos Martínez,
  • María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes,
  • Rosa María del Pino Salvador,
  • José Jesús Gázquez Linares

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1505422
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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BackgroundCyberbullying significantly affects adolescents, increasing the risk of negative emotional symptoms. This study explores how psychological flexibility and inflexibility may mediate this relationship, focusing on adolescent mental health in the context of cyberbullying.MethodsA sample of 2,171 secondary school students, aged 11–18 years, was used to assess cyberbullying, emotional symptoms, and levels of psychological flexibility and inflexibility.ResultsCybervictimization showed a direct relationship with emotional symptoms and psychological inflexibility. Psychological flexibility was negatively associated with cybervictimization and positively associated with mental health, acting as a protective mediator against the association of cyberbullying.ConclusionPsychological flexibility emerges as a key factor in reducing the negative association of cybervictimization in adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of developing strategies to improve psychological flexibility in young people as a means to strengthen their resilience in the face of cyberbullying and its emotional consequences.

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