The Influence of Media Violence Exposure on Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Parental Monitoring
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61173/69a8wm57Keywords:
Media violence exposure, cyberbullying, parental monitoring, adolescentsAbstract
Alongside the development of media, youth are exposed to varied content, including violence, which affects their thinking habits. Violent media exposure has led to an increase in cyberbullying among youth. Cyberbullying among adolescents has emerged as a social issue of global concern. This study investigates the influence of media violence exposure on adolescent cyberbullying, emphasizing the mediating role of parental monitoring. This study explores how exposure to violent media content predicts cyberbullying behaviors and how parental monitoring moderates this relationship using data from adolescent respondents. The findings reveal that exposure to violent media content significantly increases the likelihood of cyberbullying and restrictive parental monitoring is positively predicted higher levels of cyberbullying. At lower levels of parental monitoring, the positive effect of media violence exposure on cyberbullying weakens, while higher levels of parental monitoring exacerbate this effect. This study concludes that parenting styles and family environment are crucial in either mitigating or exacerbating the risk of cyberbullying. The results of the analysis highlight the need for parents to adopt more balanced monitoring strategies to reduce the risk of cyberbullying among adolescents.References
[1] Xinhua News Agency. (2024, March 22). The scale of netizens in China reaches 1.092 billion people. Gov. cn. Retrieved from https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202403/ content_6940952.htm on 16th September 2024.
[2] China Internet Network Information Center. (2023). The 5th national report on internet usage among minors. China Internet Network Information Center. Retrieved from https://www.cnnic.net.cn/NMediaFile/2023/1225/ MAIN1703484375296SPBHV29S0V.pdf on 16th September 2024.
[3] Bartholow, B. D., & Bolls, P. Media psychophysiology: The brain and beyond. In K. E. Dill (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of media psychology (Oxford Library of Psychology). Oxford Academic. 2013.
[4] Zhu, C., Huang, S., Evans, R., & Zhang, W. Cyberbullying among adolescents and children: A comprehensive review of the global situation, risk factors, and preventive measures. Frontiers in Public Health, 2021, 9: 634909.
[5] Cao, L. What can parents do with cyberbullying among adolescents? International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 2023, 13(4): 230-236.
[6] Zhao, Y. Dissecting the phenomenon of media violence. Media Observer, 2004, (12): 18-20.
[7] Anderson, C. A., Carnagey, N. L., & Eubanks, J. Exposure to violent media: The effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003, 84(5): 960–971.
[8] Wang, Y., Li, C., & Wu, J. Violence exposure in daily life and adolescent cyberbullying: The mediating role of aggressive beliefs and the moderating role of gender. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2019, 27(5): 909-912.
[9] Song, Y. The impact of media violence exposure on cyberbullying among junior high school students (Master’s thesis, Harbin Normal University). China National Knowledge Infrastructure. (2019).
[10] Anderson, C. A., Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., Huesmann, L. R., Johnson, J. D., Linz, D., Malamuth, N. M., & Wartella, E. The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2003, 4(3): 1–110.
[11] Krahé, B., Möller, I., Huesmann, L. R., Kirwil, L., Felber, J., & Berger, A. Desensitization to media violence: Links with habitual media violence exposure, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2011, 100(4): 630–646.
[12] Barlett, C. P. Cyberbullying process in US adolescents and their parents: Testing and extending the Barlett Gentile cyberbullying model. Aggressive Behavior, 2024, 50(1): e22117.
[13] Feng, J. Cyberbullying and its prevention education. Educational Development Research, 2018, 12: 49-54.
[14] Casas, J. A., Del Rey, R., & Ortega-Ruiz, R. Bullying and cyberbullying: Convergent and divergent predictor variables. Computers in Human Behavior, 2013, 29(3): 580-587.
[15] Hemphill, S. A., Kotevski, A., Tollit, M., Smith, R., Herrenkohl, T. I., Toumbourou, J. W., & Catalano, R. F. Longitudinal predictors of cyber and traditional bullying perpetration in Australian secondary school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2012, 51(1): 59-65.
[16] Shi, Y. Analysis of cyberbullying issues in Japanese primary and secondary schools. Juvenile Delinquency Research, 2020, 2: 40-44.
[17] Zhang, L., Zhu, L., Rong, F., Tao, L., Zhang, J., Jia, X., ... & Hao, J. The association between cyberbullying and sleep disorders among vocational college students. Chinese Journal of School Health, 2015, 36(2): 281-284.
[18] Zhou, K., Liao, Y., Chen, Y., Zhang, G., Wei, Q., Yang, X., & Wang, Y. The relationship between bullying experiences and depression in junior high school students and the mediating role of attentional control. Modern Preventive Medicine, 2023, 50(8): 1392-1397+1435.
[19] Wang, G., Fang, Y., Jiang, L., Zhou, G., Yuan, S., Wang, X., & Su, P. The association between cyberbullying and suiciderelated psychological behaviors among middle school students in Anhui Province. Journal of Hygiene Research, 2015, 44(6): 896-903.
[20] Wang, W., Zhang, Z., Li, Y., Wu, X., Zhao, F., Yang, B., ... & Sun, Y. Association between cyberbullying and suicide-related behaviors among adolescents in vocational schools in Anhui Province. Chinese Journal of Disease Control and Prevention, 2017, 21(6): 611-614. Dean&Francis ISSN 2959-6149
[21] Patterson, G. R. A social learning approach. Vol 3, Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia Publishing Company. 1982.
[22] Zhang, W., Zou, H., & Li, X. Parental monitoring and its effects on adolescents‘ social adaptation. Psychological Development and Education, 2011, 27(3): 267-273.
[23] Lippold, M. A., Greenberg, M. T., Graham, J. W., & Feinberg, M. E. Unpacking the effect of parental monitoring on early adolescent problem behavior: Mediation by parental knowledge and moderation by parent-youth warmth. Journal of Family Issues, 2014, 35(13): 1800–1823.
[24] Gewirtz, A. H., Lee, S. S., August, G. J., & He, Y. Does giving parents their choice of interventions for child behavior problems improve child outcomes? Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 2019, 20(1), 78–88.
[25] Liu, Y., Fei, L., Sun, X., Wei, C., Luo, F., Li, Z., Shen, L., Xue, G., & Lin, X. Parental rearing behaviors and adolescent’s social trust: Roles of adolescent self-esteem and class justice climate. Journal of Child and Family Studies,2018, 27(5): 1-12.
[26] Wilson, S. L., Zimet, G. D., & Knopf, A. S. The Parental Monitoring Scale: Psychometric properties and implications for use with diverse samples in North America. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2018, 62(2): S57–S58.
[27] Gentile, D. A., Lynch, P. J., Linder, J. R., & Walsh, D. A. The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 2004, 27(1): 5–22.
[28] Topcu, Ç., & Erdur-Baker, Ö. The Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory (RCBI): Validity and reliability studies. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2010, 5: 660–664.
[29] Chu, X., & Fan, C. Revision and validation of the Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory (RCBI) among Chinese middle school students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2017, 25(06): 1031-1034.
[30] Zhang, W., & Wu, J. Revision of the Chinese version of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Psychological Development and Education, 1999, 15(02).
[31] Stattin, H., & Kerr, M. Parental monitoring: A reinterpretation. Child Development, 2000, 71(4): 1072–1085.
[32] Jin, C., & Zou, H. The relationship between parental monitoring and adolescent internet deviant behavior: The moderating role of personality types. Chinese Journal of Special Education, 2013, 06: 63–68.
[33] Wang, X., Gao, Y., & Zang, G. The relationship between parental monitoring, time management tendencies, and middle school students‘ learning engagement. Educational Exploration, 2014, 06: 134–135.
[34] Zhang, H. The relationship between parental monitoring, teacher support, and cyberbullying behavior among middle school students (Master’s thesis, Minnan Normal University). 2022.
[35] Zhou, H., & Long, L. Statistical test and control methods of common method bias. Advances in Psychological Science, 2004, 12(06): 942–950.
[36] Allen, J. J., Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. The General Aggression Model. Current Opinion in Psychology, 2018, 19: 75–80.
[37] Bandura, A. Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1977.
[38] Agbaria, Q., & Natur, N. The relationship between violence in the family and adolescents‘ aggression: The mediator role of self-control, social support, religiosity, and well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 2018, 91: 447–456.
[39] Duan, D., Zhang, X., Wei, L., Zhou, Y., & Liu, C. The impact of media violence exposure on aggressive behavior: The roles of normative beliefs and empathy. Psychological Development and Education, 2014, (02): 185–192.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 by the authors.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
