The Relationship between Social Support and Cyberbullying: The Mediating Role of Internet Addiction, Internet Loitering, and Social Exclusion

The expansion of the use of the Internet and virtual networks among teenagers has provided a platform for exposure to some cyber violence. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the mediating role of internet addiction, internet roaming and social exclusion in the relationship between social support and cyberbullying among second year high school students in Shiraz using path analysis method.

Research, application and the method of collecting and analyzing its data is descriptive of the correlation type. The research population is the students of the second year of high school in Shiraz city in the academic year of 2001-2011. 381 people were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling and answered a self-report questionnaire consisting of internet victimization and internet harassment subscales, perceived social support questionnaire, internet addiction scale, internet roaming scale and social exclusion questionnaire. . The data were analyzed using path analysis method and Imus software.
 

According to the findings, internet addiction, internet roaming and social deprivation play a mediating role in relation to cyber immorality.

If students have social support from family, friends, and important others, they will be less likely to be cyber-bullied in the face of cyberspace harm.