Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Mar 2023)
The Interactive Effects of Parental Mediation Strategies in Preventing Cyberbullying on Social Media
Abstract
Liang Chen,1 Xiaoming Liu,2 Hongjie Tang1 1School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Journalism, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaoming Liu, Department of Journalism, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, 5 Hereford Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China, Tel +852 59826538, Email [email protected]: Applying the parental mediation theory, this study investigates the main effects and interactive effects of three parental social media strategies, ie, active mediation, restrictive mediation, and non-intrusive inspection, on cyberbullying among teenagers. A matched child-parent survey was conducted with 642 secondary-school students aged 13– 18 and their parents in China.Results: The results showed that active mediation was negatively associated with both cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Restrictive mediation was not significantly associated with cyberbullying. Non-intrusive inspection was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration but not associated with cyberbullying victimization. Moreover, the two-way interaction between active and restrictive mediation as well as the three-way interaction between the three parental mediation strategies significantly affected cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Specifically, the combination of high-level active mediation and non-intrusive inspection with low-level restrictive mediation was the most effective strategy for preventing cyberbullying.Conclusion: This finding significantly contributes to the parental mediation literature and provide theoretical guidelines for parental intervention to prevent cyberbullying among teenager.Keywords: parental mediation, social media, cyberbullying, interactive effects
