The effect of parenting styles on cyberbullying/cyber-victimization and the role of parental monitoring in cyberspace.

Alexiadou, M.E. (Maria-Eleni)¹, Stavrinides, P. (Panayiotis)^2
1University of Cyprus, Department of Psychology
²University of Cyprus, Department of Psychology, 1678, Nicosia

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 10-07-2019, 15:30 - 17:00

Keywords

cyber-bullying (CB), cybervictimization (CV), parenting styles, parental monitoring

Summary

Cyberbullying has become an important youth issue worldwide, due to the increasing use of networked computers and mobile phones among young people. Cyberbullying may have worse consequences for children than traditional bullying, because of the speed at which information is distributed, the anonymity of predators etc. Parents have a critical influence on reducing their children’s involvement in cyberbullying. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cyberbullying, cyber-victimization, parenting styles, and the role of parental monitoring in cyberspace on these relationships. The participants were 725 children and adolescents (54% girls, M age= 11.73 years) attending Cyprus public institutions. Students completed the PECK sub-scale, which evaluates the personal experience of children in cyberbullying/cyber-victimization, the PAQ, which evaluates their views on parenting practices and CBM, which measures parental monitoring in cyberspace. The findings indicated that children of democratic parents were less likely to be involved with cyberbullying/cyber-victimization than children of authoritarian and permissive parents. Parental monitoring in cyberspace was found to have a moderating role in the relationship of democratic parenting style and cyberbullying/cyber-victimization. The results of this study are discussed in relation to the theoretical contribution, the connection with earlier studies, and the practical implications.

Auteurs