Social Learning of Cyberbullying Perpetration: The Interactive Role of Parent and Peer Cyberbullying and Cyberbullying Reinforcement in a Sample of US Adolescents: A Brief Report

Cyberbullying has emerged as a societal issue, and the prevalence rates juxtaposed with the deleterious outcomes afforded the cyberbully perpetrator and victim alike warrant continued empirical attention. The current research is the first study to utilize social learning theory to test the (a) direct relationship between cyberbullying reinforcement and cyberbullying in an adolescent sample and (b) the moderating and mediating roles of parent and peer cyberbullying perpetration. U.S. adolescents (N = 200; average age = 15.64 years) completed measures of cyberbullying perpetration, cyberbullying reinforcement, peer cyberbullying perpetration, and parent cyberbullying perpetration. Results showed that self, parent, and peer cyberbullying were highly correlated and that peer cyberbullying perpetration had the highest prevalence. Moreover, moderation tests showed that adolescent cyberbullying was highest when peer cyberbullying, parent cyberbullying, and cyberbullying reinforcement were also high. Finally, cyberbullying reinforcement mediated the relationship between peer, but not parent, cyberbullying and participant cyberbullying.