Autistic Traits and Cyberbullying Involvement Mediated by Psychopathologies and School Functions in a Nationally Representative Child Sample

Cyberbullying has become an international concern among youth with autistic traits in the digital age. It draws the attention of professionals in mental health and education due to its potentially severe psychosocial and academic impacts. However, there is limited knowledge about the mediators for these associations. This study investigated whether school dysfunction and comorbid psychopathologies mediated the link between autistic traits and cyberbullying. We used a nationally representative sample of 9,483 students (9-14 years of age). The instruments included the Social Responsiveness Scale for autistic traits; the Cyberbullying Experiences Questionnaire for cyberbullying victimization and perpetration; the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, version IV for inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and oppositional behaviors; the Child Behavior Checklist for anxiety/depression; and the Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents for impaired school functions. Multiple mediation models were used for statistical analyses. The results showed that the 1-year prevalence rates of pure victims, pure perpetrators, and bully-victims of cyberbullying were 7.9 percent, 2.4 percent, and 5.7 percent, respectively. Cyberbullying victimization and perpetration were positively associated with autistic traits, school dysfunction, and comorbid psychopathologies. The associations between autistic traits and cyberbullying victims and bully-victims were significantly mediated by school dysfunction and hyperactivity/impulsivity (only for bully-victims), independent of sex and age. Our results suggest that early identification and intervention of these difficulties may mitigate the risks of cyberbullying.ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02707848.