Exploring the relationship between paternal co-parenting behaviors and cyberbullying perpetration in Chinese adolescents: The moderating roles of psychological entitlement and gender

This study examined the relationships between paternal co-parenting dimensions (including integrity, consistency, conflict, and bias) and adolescent cyberbullying perpetration, delving into potential moderating mechanisms. A sample of 795 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.79 years, SD = 1.67) completed questionnaires assessing parental co-parenting, cyberbullying perpetration, and psychological entitlement. Results showed a positive association only between paternal co-parenting bias and cyberbullying perpetration. The study identified a moderating role of psychological entitlement, indicating a stronger link between paternal co-parenting bias and cyberbullying perpetration for adolescents with higher psychological entitlement than for those with lower psychological entitlement. Notably, the significant association between paternal co-parenting bias and cyberbullying perpetration only existed among boys. The study provides new insights into the roles of paternal co-parenting and adolescent psychological entitlement in cyberbullying perpetration among adolescent boys, emphasizing the importance of mitigating paternal co-parenting bias and reducing adolescent psychological entitlement to prevent cyberbullying perpetration. Paternal co-parenting bias positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Psychological entitlement moderated the association between paternal co-parenting bias and cyberbullying perpetration. Notably, the positive association between paternal co-parenting bias and cyberbullying perpetration was observed exclusively among boys.