Outrage Cyberbullying Versus General Cyberbullying: Assessing the Explanatory Capacity of Control and Strain Theories and the Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement

Abstract

While a substantial and growing body of literature on cyberbullying has been conducted worldwide, few studies have examined the extent and mechanism by which situational contexts interact with victim characteristics to precipitate bystander involvement in cyberbullying perpetration, including cyberbullying triggered by moral outrage. Drawing on survey data from Chinese college students, this study explores the direct connections between variables representing social bonds, low self-control, and general strain and general and outrage cyberbullying and their indirect relationships through moral disengagement. This study shows that low self-control and general strain events have significant direct positive associations with the occurrence of cyberbullying. Social control exerts a significant direct linkage to general cyberbullying but does not have a direct relationship with outrage cyberbullying. Moral disengagement is a key psychological mechanism behind cyberbullying behavior, significantly mediating the associations between social control and low self-control and general and outrage cyberbullying. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.