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Gender, Rumination, and Awareness of the Perpetrator’s Identity as Predictors of Help-Seeking Among Cyberbullying Victims

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Abstract

Previous studies have highlighted the importance of help-seeking as a strategy that has a potential to reduce incidents of cyberbullying. Although several intervention programs incorporated help-seeking strategies as a key element of education, relatively little is known about the individual factors that may influence help-seeking propensity among victims. The present study investigated cyberbullying-specific factors, dysfunctional emotion regulatory strategies, and psychological resources as possible predictors of help-seeking. A total of 447 cyberbullying victims (49.9% male; Mage = 28.9 years, SD = 9.1) completed an online questionnaire on bullying experiences and other relevant variables. Results indicated that females and those with a higher tendency to ruminate about past cyberbullying incidents were more likely to seek help. Furthermore, victims’ awareness of the perpetrator’s identity was also associated with a greater likelihood of help-seeking. These findings could possibly contribute to the efficacy of intervention programs by increasing general knowledge about individual differences in help-seeking behaviors.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (Grant numbers: K111938, KKP126835). Ágnes Zsila was supported by the ÚNKP-17-3 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

    Ágnes Zsila, Róbert Urbán & Zsolt Demetrovics

  2. Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

    Ágnes Zsila

Authors
  1. Ágnes Zsila
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  2. Róbert Urbán
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  3. Zsolt Demetrovics
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Correspondence to Zsolt Demetrovics.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of University’s Research Ethics Board and with the 1975 Helsinki Declaration.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

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Zsila, Á., Urbán, R. & Demetrovics, Z. Gender, Rumination, and Awareness of the Perpetrator’s Identity as Predictors of Help-Seeking Among Cyberbullying Victims. Int J Ment Health Addiction 17, 947–958 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9932-6

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