“If You Love Me,You Must Do...” Parental Psychological Control and Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Chinese Adolescents

Abstract

Considering the prevalence of cyberbullying, the current study explores the factors associated with its perpetration. Using self-determination theory, the association of parental psychological control (PPC) with cyberbullying perpetration was examined. To explore this influencing mechanism further, psychological reactance (PRt) and materialism were examined as two mediators in this relationship. Moreover, according to the diathesis–stress model and cognitive model of resilience, psychological resilience (PRl) was examined as a moderator in the direct and indirect link between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. To test our expectations, 804 adolescents (M = 13.12, SD = 1.16) participated in the current study using a cross-sectional design and multiple questionnaires, namely, the Chinese version of the Parental Control Questionnaire, Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory, Hong Psychological Reactance Scale, Material Values Scale for Children, and Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents. Correlation analysis indicated that PPC, PRt, materialism, and cyberbullying perpetration were significantly and positively correlated, and were significantly and negatively related to PRl. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that PRt and materialism played multiple mediating roles in the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. Multiple mediation analysis indicated that PRl weakened the direct associations of PPC, PRt, and materialism with cyberbullying perpetration, further alleviating the indirect and direct associations of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration, supporting the moderated mediation model. Specifically, adolescents high in PPC were more likely to have stronger PRt and materialistic values, which further triggered cyberbullying perpetration. PRl can protect adolescents high in PPC from cyberbullying perpetration via weakening the direct and indirect associations of PPC with cyberbullying.

Keywords

parental psychological control cyberbullying perpetration psychological reactance materialism psychological resilience moderated mediation model

Cyberbullying, a prevalent and destructive deviant internet behavior, refers to “using information and communication technologies (ICT) to repeatedly and intentionally harm, harass, hurt and/or embarrass a target” (Peter & Petermann, 2018, p. 358). With the development of ICT, cyberbullying perpetration and victimization have become common among Chinese adolescents (Wang, Yang, et al., 2019). The prevalence of cyberbullying varies greatly from country to country, which shows the cultural diversity of this phenomenon. The highest median prevalence of adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration was found in studies from Canada (23.8%, varying between 1.9% and 65.0%) and China (23.0%, varying between 11.2% and 56.9%), while the lowest median prevalence was observed in studies from Australia (5.0%), Sweden (5.2%), and Germany (6.3%) (Brochado et al., 2016). Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, and even witnessing cyberbullying, trigger various internalizing and externalizing problems (Sourander et al., 2010). Considering its high prevalence and adverse outcomes, exploring the occurrence mechanism of cyberbullying is crucial for prevention and intervention.

Family-related factors have long attracted considerable attention because of their significant influences on the development of adolescents, who possess heightened risk (Bai et al., 2020). From a developmental perspective, family-related factors have a greater impact on children and adolescents than adults for cyberbullying (Kowalski et al., 2019). Previous studies have revealed parental protective factors and risk factors for cyberbullying (López-Castro & Priegue, 2019). However, parental control has been found as a risk factor, but other studies have revealed that some forms of parental control, such as restrictive and active mediation, parental monitoring, and supervision, are negatively related to cyberbullying perpetration (López-Castro & Priegue, 2019). This inconsistency could be explained by different dimensions of parental control including behavioral and psychological control (Barber & Harmon, 2002). Yet few studies have tested the relationship between parental psychological control (PPC) and cyberbullying perpetration. Due to their collectivistic culture, Chinese parents display more PPC than parents in some Western countries (e.g., America), as they believe that “my child is my report card” (Ng et al., 2014). Thus, adverse outcomes of PPC among Chinese adolescents need to be explored. Several studies have found adverse effects of PPC on aggressive behaviors in real life, such as bullying perpetration (e.g., Kim & Kim, 2013). However, previous studies scarcely considered PPC as an independent concept that could be related to online aggressive behaviors (e.g., cyberbullying perpetration), and much less is known about how and when PPC increases the risk of cyberbullying. Thus, in order to fill these gaps, this study aimed to explore the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration, and its formative mechanism.

According to self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2008), PPC would frustrate satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness/security, which increases the risk of aggressive behaviors (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), such as cyberbullying perpetration. Specifically, based on this theory, two characteristics of PPC, pressuring children into thinking and behaving in a particular way and parental conditional regard, respectively frustrate children’s autonomy and closeness/security needs (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), which would respectively trigger children’s psychological reactance (PRt; Laird & Frazer, 2019) and materialism (Ching & Wu, 2018), and further increase cyberbullying. Therefore, we expected that PPC may be associated with cyberbullying perpetration via the mediating effect of PRt and materialism. Moreover, according to the diathesis–stress model (Roisman et al., 2012) and cognitive model of resilience (Parsons et al., 2016), psychological resilience (PRl) buffers against maladaptive coping styles for dealing with stress (e.g., PPC), and associated behavioral outcomes of maladaptive values and emotions (i.e., PRt and materialism). Therefore, we expected that PRl may moderate direct and indirect associations of PPC with cyberbullying. Hence, according to SDT and the two models of resilience, the current study tested the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration, the mediating effects of PRt and materialism, and the moderating effect of PRl in this relationship.

A Review of the Literature

PPC and Cyberbullying Perpetration

PPC is an intrusive and manipulative maladaptive parenting behavior. PPC refers to parents attempting to control their children through psychological tactics to encourage dependency and inhibit individuation (Scharf & Goldner, 2018). Based on SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008), parents’ psychological control of children’s thinking and behavior, parental criticism, and parental conditional attention frustrate children’s needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and further impair social adaptability and trigger various externalizing problems (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), such as cyberbullying. Several studies have supported this view. For example, PPC has been verified to be associated with aggression (He et al., 2019), a crucial risk factor for cyberbullying (Song et al., 2019). Furthermore, an authoritarian parental style, namely applying punitive and harsh practices, is also closely related to both cyberbullying and cybervictimization (Makri-Botsari & Karagianni, 2014). Moreover, some parenting styles, quite different from PPC, including supporting psychological autonomy and warm involvement, could significantly predict less bullying and cyberbullying among preadolescents (Kokkinos et al., 2016). Accordingly, it is logical to predict a positive correlation between PPC and cyberbullying.

PRt as a Mediator

According to SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008), one possible mediator that might be particularly important in the context of PPC and cyberbullying is PRt (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), which indicates a mental motivation to directly restore an individuals’ restricted freedom when it is threatened (Brehm & Brehm, 1981). A study has directly supported the positive correlation between PPC and PRt (Laird & Frazer, 2019). Compared to behavioral control, thought control is more restrictive and elicits greater PRt (Ma et al., 2019).

Despite scarce empirical evidence, it is logical to predict a positive correlation between PRt and cyberbullying. According to psychological reactance theory (PRT), power relationships (e.g., parent–child) may completely block people from behavioral and mental freedom and thus greater reactance arises, which triggers an “uncivilized motivational state” (Brehm & Brehm, 1981). In the parent–child relationship, children cannot restore their freedom, thus increased hostility and unacceptable behavior become more attractive (Rosenberg & Siegel, 2020). Therefore, stronger PRt would be positively related to cyberbullying. Empirical evidence indirectly supports this view. People high in PRt are more likely to experience aggression (Brown et al., 2011), which triggers more cyberbullying (Song et al., 2019). Moreover, individuals high in PRt have significantly lower emotional intelligence scores (Middleton et al., 2015), which could contribute to adolescents’ involvement in cyberbullying (Martínez-Monteagudo et al., 2019). Thus, adolescents with stronger PRt are more likely to cyberbully others.

In sum, PPC would be positively related to PRt, which in turn could be positively related to cyberbullying perpetration. That is, PRt could mediate the link between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. A systematic review indirectly supports this view by suggesting PRt as a probable explanation for the links between PPC and externalizing problems, including aggressive behavior, antisocial behavior, and problematic internet use (Scharf & Goldner, 2018). However, this view has been not verified by empirical research; therefore, this study aimed to fill this gap.

Materialism as a Mediator

According to SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008), another possible mediator that might be particularly important in the context of PPC and cyberbullying is materialism (Ching & Wu, 2018; Scharf & Goldner, 2018), which refers to “individual differences in people’s long-term endorsement of values, goals, and associated beliefs that focus on acquiring money and possessions” (Dittmar et al., 2014). Thus, it is theoretically reasonable to posit a positive correlation between PPC and materialism. Several existing studies have supported this view. For instance, materialism is a coping strategy used to compensate for psychological insecurity (Dittmar et al., 2014), which can be induced by PPC (Scharf & Goldner, 2018). Moreover, adolescents perceiving parental rejection are more likely to endorse materialistic values (Fu et al., 2015), and materialistic adolescents often perceive their parents as controlling and dismissive of their feelings and concerns (Williams et al., 2000).

Based on the theory and empirical evidence, we can therefore presume a positive correlation between materialism and cyberbullying. According to the results of circular stochastic modelling analyses (Grouzet et al., 2005), materialistic goals are relatively opposite to the attitudes, behaviors, and experiences relevant to prosocial values, community, affiliation, and self-acceptance (Kasser, 2016). Thus, materialism would increase the risk of cyberbullying. Empirical evidence supports this view. For example, materialism is associated with negative outcomes, including poor interpersonal relationships, anxiety, low life satisfaction, and depression (Dittmar et al., 2014), all of which are cyberbullying risk factors (Kowalski et al., 2014). From an evolutionary perspective, a positive correlation between materialism and cyberbullying among Chinese adolescents has been directly verified (Wang, Wang, et al., 2021). Moreover, expression of materialistic values is influenced by cultural background (Clarke & Micken, 2002). In collectivistic (e.g., Chinese) cultures, good interpersonal and peer relationships are symbolic of prestige and social status (Li & Guo, 2008), therefore, aggressive and selfish behaviors of adolescents high in materialism are more likely to manifest online than offline as cyberspace allows anonymity and online disinhibition. However, in Western individualistic societies, people seldom have as many in-group identities and are free to create their own “selves” (Clarke & Micken, 2002). Thus, selfish behaviors of highly materialistic people are less restricted in individualistic than in collectivistic cultures, which would be associated with more offline antisocial behaviors, such as physical bullying (Kasser, 2016). Therefore, materialism would be related to cyberbullying among Chinese adolescents.

In sum, PPC would be positively related to materialism, which in turn is positively related to cyberbullying perpetration. That is, materialism could mediate the link between PPC and cyberbullying. Several studies support mediating effects of materialism in the link between other undesirable contextual factors (e.g., poor student–student relationships and chronic perceived stress), cyberbullying and unethical behaviors (Liu et al., 2018; Wang, Wang, et al., 2021). Thus, the current study innovatively tested whether materialism mediated the link between a parental factor (i.e., PPC) and cyberbullying perpetration.

Multiple Mediation Model

Based on the literature review, we expected that PRt and materialism parallelly mediate the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. To thoroughly examine how PPC is related to cyberbullying perpetration, an integrated multiple mediation model including parallel mediation and sequential mediation was adopted in several ways (Hayes, 2013). Under the sequential mediation model, PRt and materialism would sequentially mediate the association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration. The association between PRt and materialism has been supported by indirect evidence. For instance, PRt is negatively related to self-esteem (Joubert, 1990), which would further trigger materialistic values (Chaplin et al., 2014). Furthermore, PRt is a stronger predictor of self-serving behavior among American college undergraduates (Lewing & Caraway, 2019), which may be consistent with materialism promoting personal interest (Kasser, 2016). Accordingly, PRt could be positively correlated with materialism. Thus, PRt and materialism could sequentially mediate the association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration.

PRl as a Moderator

PRl refers to the ability to cope with hardship and recover from adverse circumstances (Terrill et al., 2014). According to the diathesis–stress model (Roisman et al., 2012), PRl may protect adolescents from harmful effects of poor developmental experiences or stress (e.g., PPC) on healthy development (Hu et al., 2015). Accordingly, we expected that PRl may alleviate the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying. Several previous studies supported this view. For instance, PRl buffered harmful effects of parental rejection, death, and divorce on educational attainment (Bussemakers & Kraaykamp, 2020). Additionally, adverse childhood experiences, such as childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction, are more likely to increase adults’ depression, when they have poorer PRl (Poole et al., 2017). From the perspective of physiological psychology, increasing PRl can decrease the effects of perceived stress on elevated cortisol concentration (Matthew et al., 2020), which is associated with more aggressive behaviors (Azurmendi et al., 2016). Thereby, PRl may buffer the association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration.

Following the cognitive model of resilience, if the resultant behavioral responses (e.g., cyberbullying perpetration) caused by PRt do not deal effectively with stress, the mapping system of individuals high in PRl would promote flexibility in their cognitive processes and processing of emotional information, and promote efficient self-regulation (Parsons et al., 2016). As a result, we expected that PRl may buffer the association of PRt with cyberbullying perpetration. Thus, the mediating effect of PRt is further hypothesized to be alleviated by PRl.

According to the cognitive model of resilience (Parsons et al., 2016), situational stress may lead individuals to show certain information processing biases (e.g., materialistic values). Furthermore, when cognitive bias triggers cyberbullying perpetration, the mapping system would adjust accommodative cognitive processing to help adolescents with strong PRl to adopt adaptive behaviors. Therefore, we expected that PRl may buffer the association of materialism with cyberbullying perpetration. Moreover, indirect evidence supports our expectation. Adolescents high in PRl are more likely to display good mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal (Zarotti et al., 2020). Furthermore, mindfulness may efficiently decrease the materialism–mental health relationship and attenuate negative influences of materialism (Wang et al., 2017). Hence, we expected that PRl may buffer the association of materialism with cyberbullying. Based on this, the mediating effect of materialism and the sequential mediating effect of PRt and materialism are further hypothesized to be alleviated by PRl.

The Current Study

This study first considered PPC as an independent concept, different from parental behavioral control, and explored the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. In previous research, SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008) was only used to explain adverse effects of PPC on adolescents’ offline antisocial behaviors (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), while the role of PPC in online aggressive behaviors received very little attention. Moreover, the diathesis–stress model (Roisman et al., 2012) focuses on the protective effect of PRl on internalizing and externalizing problems in real life after experiencing stressful events, while paying little attention to the role of PRl in shaping cyber-problem behaviors (e.g., cyberbullying). Therefore, to fill these gaps, we innovatively integrated these two theories to unpack adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration when facing stronger PPC.

This study had three objectives: (a) to explore the relationship between PPC and cyberbullying perpetration, (b) to synthesize the relations among PPC, cyberbullying perpetration, PRt, and materialism, and (c) to test the moderating effect of PRl on the direct and indirect associations of PPC and cyberbullying perpetration. We established a moderated mediating model (Figure 1) to test these hypotheses.

Figure 1.

The assumptive mediated moderation model.

Hypothesis 1: PPC is positively correlated with cyberbullying.

Hypothesis 2: PRt mediates the link between PPC and cyberbullying.

Hypothesis 3: Materialism mediates the link between PPC and cyberbullying.

Hypothesis 4: PRt is positively correlated with materialism. PRt and materialism sequentially mediate the association of PPC with cyberbullying.

Hypothesis 5: PRl buffers the direct and indirect associations of PPC with cyberbullying via PRt and materialism.

Methods

Participants

A total of 804 Chinese adolescents volunteered to complete an anonymous self-report questionnaire. This research was approved by the local ethics committee of Huantai experimental school and school administrators, teachers, parents, and the adolescents themselves provided informed consent. Participants included 421 females and 383 males, 204 only children and 600 nononly children, 745 adolescents living in bi-parental households and 59 living in single-parent households, 246 adolescents from villages and towns, and 558 from cities. Their mean age was 13.12 (SD = 0.91, range 10–16). All were Han Chinese and had owned and used a mobile phone or a computer to connect to the internet in the past year.

Measures

PPC. It was measured by the parental psychological control sub-questionnaire from the Chinese version of the Parental Control Questionnaire (Wang et al., 2007). A total of 36 items (18 for paternal psychological control and 18 for maternal psychological control) were rated using a 5-point Likert scale. Higher average scores indicate stronger perceived PPC of adolescents. This questionnaire has shown satisfactory reliability and validity and is suitable to evaluate perceived PPC levels of Chinese adolescents (Wang et al., 2007). For the paternal psychological control items, a second-order CFA model generated a very good fit, χ²/df = 3.258, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.05, GFI = 0.95, AGFI = 0.92, IFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.95; for maternal psychological control items, the second-order CFA model also generated a very good fit, χ²/df = 3.189, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.052, GFI = 0.95, AGFI = 0.92, IFI = 0.96, CFI = 0.96. Therefore, the PPC sub-questionnaire had good construct validity. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the PPC sub-questionnaire was .94.

Cyberbullying perpetration. The Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory (RCBI; Topcu & Erdur-Baker, 2010) was translated into Chinese and revised to be specific to Chinese adolescents by Chu and Fan (2017). It has shown satisfactory reliability and validity among Chinese adolescents (Zhang et al., 2019). Cyberbullying was measured using the cyberbullying subscale from the Chinese version of the RCBI, with 14 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale. Participants assessed how frequently they had performed the corresponding behavior in the last year on each question. Higher average scores indicate more frequent cyberbullying perpetration. In the cyberbullying subscale, the first-order CFA model also generated a very good fit, χ²/df = 4.689, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.068, GFI = 0.96, AGFI = 0.92, IFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.95. Therefore, the cyberbullying subscale had good construct validity. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the cyberbullying subscale was .80.

PRt. It was measured using the 11-item Hong Psychological Reactance Scale (HPRS; Hong & Faedda, 1996). It has shown satisfactory reliability and validity among Chinese secondary school students (Fan et al., 2016). Participants rated each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The second-order CFA model generated very good fit, χ²/df = 4.574, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.067, GFI = 0.96, AGFI = 0.93, IFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.95. Therefore, the HPRS had good construct validity. Higher average scores indicate stronger PRt. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the revised HPRS was .87.

Materialism. It was measured using the Material Values Scale for Children (MVS-c, Opree et al., 2011), an 18-item questionnaire including three factors, namely, material centrality, material happiness, and material success. It was found to have satisfactory reliability and validity among Chinese adolescents (Jiang et al., 2015). Individuals respond to each item on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (no, not at all) to 4 (yes, very much). Higher average scores indicate stronger materialistic values. The second-order CFA model generated very good fit, χ²/df = 4.628, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.067, GFI = 0.93, AGFI = 0.90, IFI = 0.96, CFI = 0.96. Therefore, the MVS-c had good construct validity. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the Chinese version of the MVS-c was .94.

PRl. It was measured using the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents (RSCA) developed by Hu and Gan (2008). It has shown satisfactory reliability and validity among Chinese adolescents (Zhao et al., 2014). The RSCA contains 27 items divided into five dimensions, namely, goal concentration, emotion regulation, positive perception, family support, and interpersonal assistance. Adolescents respond to each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher average scores indicate greater PRl. The second-order CFA model generated very good fit, with χ²/df = 4.872, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.069, GFI = 0.87, AGFI = 0.84, IFI = 0.85, CFI = 0.85. Therefore, the RSCA had good construct validity. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for the RSCA was .90.

Statistical Analyses

First, data were recorded in a computer and processed using SPSS 18.0. Outliers were regarded as missing data; the final amount of missing data was less than 0.1%. Missing data were handled with mean imputation, which replaced missing values with the mean of the score of the item to which the missing data belonged. Second, factor analysis was used to conduct a common variance analysis to test for common method biases. After principal component analysis, 26 eigenvalues > 1 were extracted and the first factor explained 18.144% of the variance, demonstrating that the current study did not have many issues with common method biases. Third, descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis were conducted to analyze all research variables. Fourth, Model 6 of the PROCESS macro was used to evaluate the multiple mediation model and test the total effect of PPC on cyberbullying perpetration, and parallel and sequential mediating effects of PRt and materialism. The final step used Model 89 to explore the moderating effect of PRl and the moderated mediation model.

Results

Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis

Independent sample t tests indicated that males, compared to females, perceived significantly more PPC, t = 2.09, p = .04. Males and females did not differ on PRt (t = –.81, p = .42), materialism (t = –1.47, p = .14), cyberbullying perpetration (t = 1.82, p = .07), and PRl (t = .64, p = .53). Age was significantly positively associated with PRt (r = .08, p = .03), cyberbullying perpetration (r = .10, p < .01), and PRl (r = .08, p = .03). Therefore, we included gender and age as covariates in subsequent analyses. Descriptive statistics and the correlation matrix of all research variables are provided in Table 1. PPC, PRt, materialism, and cyberbullying perpetration were significantly and positively correlated, and were significantly and negatively related to PRl (p < .001).

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Matrix of All Variables.

Variables	M	SD	1	2	3	4
1. Parental psychological control	2.53	.81	1
2. Psychological reactance	2.24	.83	.39^***	1
3. Materialism	1.83	.62	.31^***	.40^***	1
4. Cyberbullying perpetration	1.08	.19	.33^***	.41^***	.37^***	1
5. Psychological resilience	3.54	.71	–.30^***	–.42^***	–.23^***	–.35^***

Note. N = 804. ^***p < .001.

Multiple Mediation Model Test

The results of multiple mediation analysis are shown in Table 2. All pathways were significant (p < .001), even after controlling for gender and age. The total effect is .32, p < .001, 95% CI [.25, .38], supporting Hypothesis 1, that PPC is positively correlated with cyberbullying perpetration. Furthermore, PRt and materialism parallelly mediated the PPC–cyberbullying relationship (PRt: indirect effect = .10, 95% CI [.07, .14]; materialism: indirect effect = .04, 95% CI [.02, .07]), therefore supporting both Hypotheses 2 and 3, that PRt and materialism mediate the link between PPC and cyberbullying respectively. The pathway of “PPC ↓ PRt ↓ Materialism ↓ CP” was significant (indirect effect = .03, 95% CI [.02, .05]), therefore supporting Hypothesis 4, that PRt is positively correlated with materialism, and PRt and materialism sequentially mediates the association of PPC with cyberbullying. The residual direct effect was also significant (b = .15, p < .001). Thus, PRt and materialism only partially mediated the association of PPC with cyberbullying. This model accounted for 24.49% of the variance in Chinese adolescents’ cyberbullying.

Table 2.

Testing the Pathways of the Multiple Mediation Model.

Predictors	Model 1 (PRt)		Model 2 (Materialism)		Model 3 (CP)
Predictors	b	t	b	t	b	t
Gender	.12	1.79	.11	1.76	–.14	–2.33^*
Age	.05	1.52	.00	.06	.06	1.87
PPC	.393	12.05^***	.19	5.40^***	.15	4.29^***
PRt			.32	9.36^***	.26	7.27^***
Materialism					.22	6.53^***
R²	.16		.19		.24
F	50.49^***		47.23^***		51.78^***

Note. N = 804. PPC = Parental psychological control, CP = Cyberbullying perpetration, PRt = Psychological reactance. ^*p < .05. ^***p < .001.

Moderated Mediation Model Test

The results of moderated mediation analysis controlling for adolescents’ gender and age are shown in Table 3 and Figure 2. First, PPC significantly interacted with PRl on cyberbullying (b = –.12, p < .001), indicating that PRl weakened (negatively moderated) the positive direct association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration, therefore supporting a part of Hypothesis 5, that PRl moderates the direct association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration.

Table 3.

Testing the Moderated Mediation Effect Model.

Predictors

Model 1 (PRt)

Model 2 (Materialism)

Model 3 (CP)

Gender

.12

1.79

.11

1.76

–.15

–2.80^**

Age

.05

1.52

.00

.06

2.27^*

PPC

.393

12.05^***

.19

5.40^***

.07

2.45^*

PRt

.32

9.36^***

.15

4.48^***

Materialism

.17

5.63^***

PRl

–.19

–6.31^***

PPC × PRl

–.12

–4.32^***

PRt × PRl

–.12

–3.95^***

Materialism × PRl

–.21

–7.28^***

R²

.16

.19

.45

50.49^***

47.23^***

71.05^***

Note. N = 804. PPC = Parental psychological control, CP = Cyberbullying perpetration, PRt = Psychological reactance, PRl = Psychological resilience. ^*p < .05. ^** p < .01. ^***p < .001.

Figure 2.

Note. (A) Cyberbullying perpetration as a function of parental psychological control and psychological resilience. (B) Cyberbullying perpetration as a function of psychological reactance and psychological resilience. (C) Cyberbullying perpetration as a function of materialism and psychological resilience.

Second, the significant negative interaction of PRt and PRl on cyberbullying perpetration indicated PRl weakened (negatively moderated) the positive association of PRt with cyberbullying perpetration (b = –.12, p < .001). Increasing PRl weakened and even interrupted the mediating effect of PRt (i.e., PPC ↓ PRt ↓ CP), therefore supporting a part of Hypothesis 5, that PRl buffers the positive indirect association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration via PRt. Specifically, when PRl = M – 1SD, the indirect effect was .10 (95% CI [.06, .15]), when PRl = M, the indirect effect was .06 (95% CI [.03, .08]), and when PRl = M + 1SD, the indirect effect was .01 (95% CI [–.03, .05]).

Third, the significant negative interaction of materialism and PRl on cyberbullying indicated PRl weakened (negatively moderated) the positive association of materialism with cyberbullying (b = –.22, p < .001). Increasing PRl weakened and even interrupted the indirect association of PPC with cyberbullying through materialism, including two mediation effects (PPC ↓ Materialism ↓ CP, and PPC ↓ PRt ↓ Materialism ↓ CP), therefore supporting a part of Hypothesis 5, that PRl buffers the indirect association of PPC with cyberbullying via materialism. Specifically, for the former, when PRl = M – 1SD, the indirect effect was .07 (95% CI [.04, .11]), when PRl = M, the indirect effect was .03 (95% CI [.02, .05]), and when PRl = M + 1SD, the indirect effect was –.01 (95% CI [–.03, .01]); for the later, when PRl = M – 1SD, the indirect effect was .05 (95% CI [.03, .07]), when PRl = M, the indirect effect was .02 (95% CI [.01, .03]), and when PRl = M + 1SD, the indirect effect was –.01 (95% CI [–.02, .004]). The results supported the proposed moderated mediation model, explaining 44.61% of the variance in cyberbullying.

Discussion

The total effect model revealed that PPC was associated with cyberbullying among Chinese adolescents, which supported Hypothesis 1. This result supported SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008), and is also consistent with the results of empirical studies testing relationships between PPC and other externalizing problems (He et al., 2019). The emotionally manipulative and autonomy-inhibiting nature of PPC might provide a potential explanation of why PPC was associated with externalizing problems such as cyberbullying (Yan et al., 2020). Moreover, another explanation is that this harmful parenting strategy (PPC) might not only impede adolescents’ development of abilities to self-express without fear of rejection or abandonment but could also interfere with development of trust and reliance on others (Güngör & Bornstein, 2010), which might lead adolescents to exhibit greater risky cyber-behaviors such as cyberbullying (Romm et al., 2020). More importantly, this unique effect may be more obvious for Chinese adolescents, as Chinese parents are more likely to control their children because of their belief that, “My child is my report card” (Ng et al., 2014).

Considering the unclear mechanisms of how PPC triggers cyberbullying, this study explored the mediating effect of PRt and materialism by referencing SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008). The results revealed that PRt and materialism parallelly and sequentially mediate the PPC–cyberbullying relationship, supporting Hypotheses 2–4. Furthermore, this study explored the moderating effect of PRl by referencing the diathesis–stress model (Roisman et al., 2012). The results revealed that stronger PRl weakened and even interrupted the direct and indirect associations of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration, which fully supports the moderated mediation model and supports Hypothesis 5.

Mediating Role of PRt

Supporting our expectation, PRt mediated the association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration. It supported SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008) and PRT (Brehm & Brehm, 1981), implying that PPC may elicit PRt, which would finally trigger cyberbullying. It was also consistent with existing research, indicating that PRt mediates links between parental control and externalizing or internalizing problems (Laird & Frazer, 2019; Scharf & Goldner, 2018). That is, in the parent–child relationship, PPC may disrupt one’s sense of behavioral and mental freedom, thus eliciting greater reactance, and in turn increasing their hostility and the attractiveness of unacceptable behavior (Rosenberg & Siegel, 2020), such as cyberbullying.

Individual links are noteworthy. First, PPC was positively related to PRt, consistent with the results of existing research (Laird & Frazer, 2019; Ma et al., 2019). One possible explanation is that PPC pressures adolescents into thinking and behaving in particular ways, frustrating their need for autonomy (Scharf & Goldner, 2018), which triggers unpleasant arousal (i.e., PRt) in response to this threat to freedom that motivates them to act to restore their autonomy (Steindl et al., 2015). Second, PRt was positively related to cyberbullying perpetration. This was consistent with the results of existing studies that revealed PRt is a salient predictor of internalizing and externalizing problems (e.g., Laird & Frazer, 2019; Lewing & Caraway, 2019). One possible explanation is that PRt represents a combination of anger and negative cognitions (Laird & Frazer, 2019), which could be expressed as aggressive and cyberbullying behaviors in anonymous cyberspace (Ak et al., 2015). Therefore, PRt is a risk predictor of cyberbullying perpetration. All these theories and empirical evidence support the mediating role of PRt.

Mediating Role of Materialism

Supporting our expectation, materialism mediated the PPC–cyberbullying association. This supports SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008) and the circular stochastic model of values (Grouzet et al., 2005). According to these theories, this result could be explained in that parental conditional regard of psychologically controlling parents frustrates their children’s relatedness/closeness need and thereby activates antisocial values, namely materialism (Kasser, 2016), and ultimately increases cyberbullying (Wang, Wang, et al., 2021). This result was also consistent with the conclusions of other existing investigations considering materialism as a mediator (Liu et al., 2018; Wang, Wang, et al., 2021).

The individual links in the overall mediating effect are also noteworthy. First, PPC was positively related to materialism. This supports SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2008) and is also consistent with findings, revealing a positive relationship between adverse parental factors and materialism (Ching & Wu, 2018; Fu et al., 2015). This could be explained by frustrated security needs, for which, they tend to seek approval from external sources and adopt a value system focused on wealth and possessions to feel better about themselves (Kasser, 2002). Second, materialism was positively related to cyberbullying. This is consistent with one study examining the associations of stronger materialism with cyberbullying from an evolutionary perspective (Wang, Wang, et al., 2021). It could be explained by characteristics of materialists, such as poor self-esteem (Ruvio et al., 2014), narcissism, machiavellianism (Pilch & Górnik-Durose, 2016), poor interpersonal relationships, anxiety, low life satisfaction, and depression (Dittmar et al., 2014), which have been verified as risk factors of cyberbullying perpetration (Gibb & Devereux, 2014; Guo, 2016; Kowalski et al., 2014). Moreover, compared to Western countries, in Chinese culture, adolescents high in materialism may pursue material possessions to enhance offline peer relationships (Li & Guo, 2008); therefore, their aggression due to stronger materialism is more likely to be expressed anonymously in cyberspace. Additionally, highly materialistic individuals hold more prejudicial beliefs about out-group members (Duriez et al., 2007); therefore, they are more likely to engage in out-group (versus in-group) cyberbullying perpetration. Certainly, this view needs to be further tested.

Sequential Mediating Effect of PRt and Materialism

Under the sequential mediation model, PPC was positively associated with PRt, which further was positively correlated to materialism, and finally triggered an increasing risk of cyberbullying, which supported Hypothesis 4. The sequential mediation model illustrated the positive inherent association between PRt and materialism, which is consistent with several existing studies (Chaplin et al., 2014; Joubert, 1990; Lewing & Caraway, 2019). This sequential mediation process could be explained by certain existing studies. Based on the literature review and the aforementioned results, adolescents suffering from PPC may experience stronger PRt. However, adults with high PRt have poorer self-esteem and stronger self-serving motives (Joubert, 1990; Lewing & Caraway, 2019), which are predictors of materialism (Chaplin et al., 2014). Finally, materialistic adolescents are more likely to perpetrate cyberbullying (Wang, Wang, et al., 2019).

Moderating Role of PRl

Except for the mediating effects, the current study explored the moderating effect of PRl. The hypothetical moderated mediation model was supported, indicating that PRl moderated the direct and indirect associations of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration via PRt and materialism, supporting hypotheses 5.

First, our results indicated that stronger PRl weakened and even interrupted the direct association of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration, which supported the applicability of the diathesis–stress model explaining cyberbullying perpetration (Roisman et al., 2012). This states that PRl may help adolescents cope with PPC and adequately adjust and facilitate their development (Hu et al., 2015). This result was also consistent with the conclusions of previous studies exploring the buffering effect of PRl on the associations of parental risk factors with adverse outcomes (Bussemakers & Kraaykamp, 2020; Poole et al., 2017). This result might be explained by the ability to respond to extreme stress or trauma or adverse experience successfully among adolescents high in PRl, which could help them cope with stressful life events (e.g., PPC) and decrease negative outcomes of stressors, such as cyberbullying (Ran et al., 2020). However, to our knowledge, the current study is the first to explore protective effects of PRl on helping adolescents suffering PPC to avoid cyberbullying perpetration.

Second, moderation analysis indicated that stronger PRl weakened and even interrupted the direct association of PRt with cyberbullying perpetration, and further interrupted the mediating effect of PRt, which supported the cognitive model of resilience (Parsons et al., 2016). According to this model, this result could be explained by efficient emotion regulation among adolescents with strong PRl, when they display unacceptable behaviors. Individuals high in PRl are more likely to use efficient emotion regulation strategies (Hong et al., 2018), which could help them to efficiently regulate hostile and aggressive emotions caused by PRt (Laird & Frazer, 2019), and further decrease the risk of cyberbullying perpetration (Song et al., 2019).

Third, the results indicated that PRl weakened the materialism–cyberbullying association, and further interrupted the mediating effect of materialism and the sequential mediating effect of PRt and materialism, which also supported the cognitive model of resilience (Parsons et al., 2016). This could be explained by good mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal in resilient people (Zarotti et al., 2020). Their mindfulness may help materialistic individuals to live in the present moment, go well beyond their desire for money and sensual pleasure, behave less automatically in their reactions, promote more rational judgment, and finally reduce egoism and antisociality offline and online (Kang et al., 2013; Papies et al., 2015).

Overall, the hypothetical moderated mediation model provided greater predictive power than the mediation model alone. The present study indicated that the direct and indirect associations of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration via PRt and materialism were not significant for adolescents who have good PRl.

Practical Implications and Future Directions

This study indicated that stronger PPC could be a risk factor of cyberbullying perpetration. This may serve to remind parents to reduce their psychological control over their children. In Chinese culture, parents regard their children’s achievement and good performance as representing their own self-worth; thus, they are more psychologically controlling than Western parents (Ng et al., 2014). Hence, improving Chinese parents’ self-worth and helping them to realize their child’s independence may be effective in decreasing PPC. The results of this study revealed that three types of interventions could be used to reduce cyberbullying perpetration risk among adolescents suffering PPC, namely, strengthening PRl, relieving PRt, and reducing materialism. First, effective psychological interventions aimed at improving PRl could be used, which may include implementing mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal training programs, and interventions for resilience with either human or automated support. In Chinese culture, adolescents’ PRl is influenced by dialectical thought, Confucian cultural values, and collectivistic values, which could help adolescents to positively cope with setbacks (Hu & Gan, 2008). Therefore, parents and schools can strengthen the value education of Chinese adolescents based on China-specific culture. Second, teaching emotion regulation strategies and rational thinking may effectively relieve maladaptive PRt. Moreover, Chinese culture emphasizes filial piety to parents and respect for elders, which prevents adolescents from expressing their real thoughts and emotions when they feel angry, or triggers deep remorse after uncontrolled rebellion. Thus, helping adolescents to regulate negative emotions effectively and encouraging them to calmly express their real thoughts and emotions to parents may effectively relieve their PRt. Third, interventions to decrease materialism include encouraging intrinsic/self-transcendent values/goals, increasing felt personal security, blocking materialistic messages from the environment, and policies diminishing contemporary culture’s focus on consumption, profit, and economic growth (Kasser, 2016). Due to China’s collectivistic culture, adolescents high in materialism may pursue material possessions to enhance offline peer relationships and develop similar values to peers (Li & Guo, 2008). Thus, providing love, warmth, and unconditional support, and encouraging adolescents to discuss intrinsic/self-transcendent values/goals in peer groups may prove effective among Chinese adolescents.

Despite theoretical support for the suggested interventions, this study has five limitations. First, this study used a cross-sectional approach; however, associations of PPC with externalizing problems may be bi-directional. Therefore, bi-directional associations of PPC with cyberbullying perpetration could be further explored by using longitudinal studies and lab experiments. Second, self-report measures of adolescents adopted in this study may be influenced by participants’ personality characteristics; therefore, use of multiple informants (mothers, fathers, and children) and objective measures of PPC (observations of parent–child interactions, interviews) in future research could help avoid interference of subjective factors and disentangle how children perceive parents’ actual parenting behaviors. Third, PPC was considered as a global concept; however, different types of PPC, such as dependency-oriented or achievement-oriented parenting, and involvement or disrespect, may influence adolescents’ behavior differently. Thus, future studies could further explore the similar and distinctive implications of different types of PPC. Fourth, adolescents’ cyberbullying behaviors were not classified into in-group and out-group tendencies. However, an individual high in materialism may have a stronger social dominance orientation and hold more prejudicial beliefs about out-group members (Duriez et al., 2007). Therefore, adolescents high in materialism may be more likely to perpetrate out-group (versus in-group) cyberbullying. Future research needs to further distinguish between out-group and in-group cyberbullying. Last, our sample included only adolescents in mainland China. Therefore, generalizability of the results is limited. In fact, PPC may be more obvious for Chinese adolescents, as Chinese parents are more controlling than Western parents (Ng et al., 2014). China is a collectivistic society that emphasizes parent–child relationships, which are considered more important than other relationships; therefore, parental behaviors are more likely to affect adolescents’ psychology and behaviors in the Chinese society than in individualistic societies (Wang et al., 2020). Moreover, the association of cyberbullying perpetration with PPC and materialism may differ across different cultural contexts (Fung & Lau, 2012; Li & Guo, 2008). Therefore, future studies may test the conclusions of the current study by collecting data from different cultural background groups.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The present study was supported by fund for building world-class universities (disciplines) of Renmin University of China Project No. 2020, and the Outstanding Innovative Talents Cultivation Funded Programs 2020 of Renmin Univertity of China.

ORCID iDs

Jingyu Geng

Xingchao Wang

Pengcheng Wang

Author Biographies

Jingyu Geng, MS, is a PhD candidate of Department of Psychology in Renmin University of China. Her research takes on cyberbullying, internet addiction, smart phone addiction, personality, and parenting.

Xingchao Wang, PhD, is a professor of School of Educational Science in Shanxi University. His research interests are cyberbullying, morality, child abuse, and personality.

Yuhui Wang, PhD, is a lecturer of Department of Psychology in Renmin University of China. Her research takes on social network site using and body image.

Li Lei, PhD, is a professor of School of Education in Renmin University of China. His research experiences have focused on developmental psychology and cyber psychology.

Pengcheng Wang, PhD, is doing research at Renmin University of China. His research interests are in cyberpsychology and adolescent development.

References

, Ozdemir

, & Kuzucu

(2015). Cybervictimization and cyberbullying: The mediating role of anger, don’t anger me. Computers in Human Behavior , 49, 437–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.03.030

Azurmendi

, Pascual-Sagastizabal

, Vergara

A. I.

, Muñoz

J. M.

, Braza

, Carreras

, Braza

, & Sánchez-Martín

J. R.

(2016). Developmental trajectories of aggressive behavior in children from ages 8 to 10: The role of sex and hormones. American Journal Human Biology , 28(1), 90–97. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22750

Bai

, Bai

, Huang

, Hsueh

, & Wang

(2020). Family incivility and cyberbullying in adolescence: A moderated mediation model. Computers in Human Behavior , 110, 106315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106315

Barber

B. K.

, & Harmon

E. L.

(2002). Violating the self: Parental psychological control of children and adolescents. In Barber

B. K.

(Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 15–52). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10422-002

Brehm

S. S.

, & Brehm

J. W.

(1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control. Academic Press.

Brochado

, Soares

, & Fraga

(2016). A scoping review on studies of cyberbullying prevalence among adolescents. Trauma, Violence & Abuse , 18(5), 523–531. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016641668

Brown

A. R.

, Finney

S. J.

, & France

M. K.

(2011). Using the bifactor model to assess the dimensionality of the Hong Psychological Reactance Scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement , 71(1), 170–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164410387378

Bussemakers

, & Kraaykamp

(2020). Youth adversity, parental resources and educational attainment: Contrasting a resilience and a reproduction perspective. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility , 67, 100505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100505

Chaplin

L. N.

, Hill

R. P.

, & John

D. R.

(2014). Poverty and materialism: A look at impoverished versus affluent children. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing , 33(1), 78–92. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.13.050

10.

Ching

B. H.

, & Wu

(2018). Parental conflicts and materialism in adolescents: Emotional insecurity as a mediator. Journal of Adolescence , 69, 189–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.07.019

11.

Chu

, & Fan

(2017). Revision of the revised cyber bullying inventory among junior high school students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology , 25(6), 1031–1034. https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2017.06.008

12.

Clarke

, & Micken

K. S.

(2002). An exploratory cross-cultural analysis of the values of materialism. Journal of International Consumer Marketing , 14(4), 65–89. https://doi.org/10.1300/J046v14n04_05

13.

Deci

E. L.

, & Ryan

R. M.

(2008). Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life’s domains. Canadian Psychology , 49(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.1037/0708-5591.49.1.14

14.

Dittmar

, Bond

, Hurst

, & Kasser

(2014). The relationship between materialism and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 107(5), 879–924. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037409

15.

Duriez

, Vansteenkiste

, Soenens

, & De Witte

(2007). The social costs of extrinsic relative to intrinsic goal pursuits: Their relation with social dominance and racial and ethnic prejudice. Journal of Personality , 75(4), 757–782. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00456.x

16.

Fan

, Gu

, Wang

, & Xue

(2016). The relationship between lower secondary school students’ psychological reactance and parenting styles: The mediating effect of personality. Chinese Journal of Special Education , 5, 69–74. https://kns-cnki-net-443.web.bisu.edu.cn/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=ZDTJ201605011&DbName=CJFQ2016

17.

, Kou

, & Yang

(2015). Materialistic values among Chinese adolescents: Effects of parental rejection and self-esteem. Child & Youth Care Forum , 44(1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-014-9269-7

18.

Fung

, & Lau

A. S.

(2012). Tough love or hostile domination? Psychological control and relational induction in cultural context. Journal of Family Psychology , 26(6), 966–975. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030457

19.

Gibb

Z. G.

, & Devereux

P. G.

(2014). Who does that anyway? Predictors and personality correlates of cyberbullying in college. Computers in Human Behavior , 38, 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.009

20.

Grouzet

F. M. E.

, Kasser

, Ahuvia

, Dols

J. M. F.

, Kim

, Lau

, Ryan

R. M.

, Saunders

, Schmuck

, & Sheldon

K. M.

(2005). The structure of goal contents across 15 cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 89(5), 800–816. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.5.800

21.

Güngör

, & Bornstein

M. H.

(2010). Culture-general and -specific associations of attachment avoidance and anxiety with perceived parental warmth and psychological control among Turk and Belgian adolescents. Journal of Adolescence , 33(5), 593–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.12.005

22.

Guo

(2016). A meta-analysis of the predictors of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Psychology in the Schools , 53(4), 432–453. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21914

23.

Hayes

A. F.

(2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach . Guilford Press.

24.

, Yuan

, Sun

, & Bian

(2019). A cross-lagged model of the link between parental psychological control and adolescent aggression. Journal of Adolescence , 74, 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.05.007

25.

Hong

, Tarullo

A. R.

, Mercurio

A. E.

, Liu

, Cai

, & Malley-Morrisona

(2018). Childhood maltreatment and perceived stress in young adults: The role of emotion regulation strategies, self-efficacy, and resilience. Child Abuse & Neglect , 86, 136–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.09.014

26.

Hong

S. M.

, & Faedda

(1996). Refinement of the Hong psychological reactance scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement , 56(1), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164496056001014

27.

, & Gan

(2008). Development and psychometric validity of the Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents. Acta Psychologica Sinica , 40(8), 902–912.

28.

, Zhang

, & Wang

(2015). A meta-analysis of the trait resilience and mental health. Personality and Individual Differences , 76, 18–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.11.039

29.

Jiang

, Liang

, Yang

, & Ke

(2015). Peer culture pressure and adolescents’ materialism: The mediating effect of self-esteem. Chinese Journal of Special Education , 1, 92–96. https://kns-cnki-net-443.web.bisu.edu.cn/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=ZDTJ201501016&DbName=CJFQ2015

30.

Joubert

C. E.

(1990). Relationship among self-esteem, psychological reactance, and other personality variables. Psychological Reports , 66(3Pt2), 1147–1151. https://doi.org/10.2466/PR0.66.3.1147-1151

31.

Kang

, Gruber

, & Gray

J. R.

(2013). Mindfulness and de-automatization. Emotion Review , 5(2), 192–201. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073912451629

32.

Kasser

(2002). The high price of materialism . MIT Press.

33.

Kasser

(2016). Materialistic values and goals. Annual Review of Psychology , 67(1), 489–514. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033344

34.

Kim

J. M.

, & Kim

J. M.

(2013). The effect of parental psychological control and moral disengagement on children’s participant role behavior in a bullying situations. Korean Journal of Child Studies , 34(6), 13–29. https://doi.org/10.5723/KJCS.2013.34.6.13

35.

Kokkinos

C. M.

, Antoniadou

, Asdre

, & Voulgaridou

(2016). Parenting and internet behavior predictors of cyber-bullying and cyber-victimization among preadolescents. Deviant Behavior , 37(4), 439–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2015.1060087

36.

Kowalski

R. M.

, Giumetti

G. W.

, Schroeder

A. N.

, & Lattanner

M. R.

(2014). Bullying in the digital age: A critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth. Psychological Bulletin , 140(4), 1073–1137. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035618

37.

Kowalski

R. M.

, Limber

S. P.

, & Mccord

(2019). A developmental approach to cyberbullying: Prevalence and protective factors. Aggression & Violent Behavior , 45, 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.02.009

38.

Laird

R. D.

, & Frazer

A. L.

(2019). Psychological reactance and negative emotional reactions in the link between psychological control and adolescent adjustment. Social Development , 29(1), 159–177. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12407

39.

Lewing

C. A.

, & Caraway

S. J.

(2019). Psychological reactance as a motivation in psychopathy. Personality and Individual Differences , 139, 355–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.12.007

40.

, & Guo

(2008). Materialism and the relevant studies. Advances in Psychological Science , 16(4), 637–643. https://doi.org/10.1115/DSCC2008-2103

41.

López-Castro

, & Priegue

(2019). Influence of family variables on cyberbullying perpetration and victimization: A systematic literature review. Social Sciences , 8(3), 98. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8030098

42.

, Tang

, & Kay

A. C.

(2019). Psychological reactance as a function of thought versus behavioral control. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , 84, 103825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103825

43.

Makri-Botsari

, & Karagianni

(2014). Cyberbullying in Greek adolescents: The role of parents. Procedia Social and Behavioural Science , 116, 3241–3253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.742

44.

Martínez-Monteagudo

M. C.

, Delgado

, Inglés

C. J.

, & García-Fernández

J. M.

(2019). Cyberbullying in the university setting. Relationship with family environment and emotional intelligence. Computers in Human Behavior , 91, 220–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.002

45.

Matthew

L. H.

, Steinhardt

M. A.

, Dubois

S. K.

, & Laudenslager

M. L.

(2020). Perceived stress, psychological resilience, hair cortisol concentration, and metabolic syndrome severity: A moderated mediation model. Psychoneuroendocrinology , 113, 104510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104510

46.

Middleton

, Buboltz

, & Sopon

(2015). The relationship between psychological reactance and emotional intelligence. The Social Science Journal , 52(4), 542–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2015.08.002

47.

F. F.

, Pomerantz

E. M.

, & Deng

(2014). Why are Chinese mothers more controlling than American mothers? “My child is my report card”. Child Development , 85(1), 355–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12102

48.

Opree

S. J.

, Buijzen

, Van Reijmersdal

E. A.

, & Valkenburg

P. M.

(2011). Development and validation of the material values scale for children (MVS-C). Personality & Individual Differences , 51(8), 963–968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.07.029

49.

Papies

E. K.

, Pronk

T. M.

, Keesman

, & Barsalou

L. W.

(2015). The benefits of simply observing: Mindful attention modulates the link between motivation and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 108(1), 148–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0450-3

50.

Parsons

S. D.

, Kruijt

, & Fox

(2016). A cognitive model of psychological resilience. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology , 7(3), 296–310. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.053415

51.

Peter

, & Petermann

(2018). Cyberbullying: A concept analysis of defining attributes and additional influencing factors. Computers in Human Behavior , 86, 350–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.013

52.

Pilch

, & Górnik-Durose

M. E.

(2016). Do we need “dark” traits to explain materialism? The incremental validity of the dark triad over the HEXACO domains in predicting materialistic orientation. Personality and Individual Differences , 102, 102–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.047

53.

Poole

J. C.

, Dobson

K. S.

, & Pusch

(2017). Childhood adversity and adult depression: The protective role of psychological resilience. Child Abuse & Neglect , 64, 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.12.012

54.

Ran

, Wang

, Ai

, Kong

, Chen

, & Kuang

(2020). Psychological resilience, depression, anxiety, and somatization symptoms in response to COVID-19: A study of the general population in China at the peak of its epidemi. Social Science & Medicine , 262, 113261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113261

55.

Roisman

G. I.

, Newman

D. A.

, Fraley

R. C.

, Haltigan

J. D.

, Groh

A. M.

, & Haydon

K. C.

(2012). Distinguishing differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress: Recommendations for evaluating interaction effects. Development and Psychopathology , 24(2), 389–409. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579412000065

56.

Romm

, Metzger

, & Alvis

L. M.

(2020). Parental psychological control and adolescent problematic outcomes: A multidimensional approach. Journal of Child and Family Studies , 29(1), 195–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01545-y

57.

Rosenberg

B. D.

, & Siegel

J. T.

(2020). Reactance and spiritual possibilities: An application of psychological reactance theory (Chapter 5). In Vail

K. E.

, & Routledge

(Eds.), The science of religion, spirituality, and existentialism (pp. 67–82). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817204-9.00006-8

58.

Ruvio

, Somer

, & Rindfleisch

(2014). When bad gets worse: The amplifying effect of materialism on traumatic stress and maladaptive consumption. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science , 42(1), 90–101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-013-0345-6

59.

Scharf

, & Goldner

(2018). “If you really love me, you will do/be…”: Parental psychological control and its implications for children’s adjustment. Developmental Review , 49, 16–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2018.07.002

60.

Song

, Zhu

, Liu

, Fan

, Zhu

, & Zhang

(2019). Effects of aggressive traits on cyberbullying: Mediated moderation or moderated mediation? Computers in Human Behavior , 97, 67–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.03.015

61.

Sourander

, Klomek

A. B.

, Ikonen

, Lindroos

, & Helenius

(2010). Psychosocial risk factors associated with cyberbullying among adolescents: A population-based study. Archives of General Psychiatry , 67(7), 720–728. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.79

62.

Steindl

, Jonas

, Sittenthaler

, Traut-Mattausch

, & Greenberg

(2015). Understanding psychological reactance. Zeitschrift für Psychologie , 223, 205–214. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000222

63.

Terrill

A. L.

, Molton

I. R.

, Ehde

D. M.

, Amtmann

, Bombardier

C. H.

, Smith

A. E.

, & Jensen

M. P.

(2014). Resilience, age, and perceived symptoms in persons with long-term physical disabilities. Journal of Health Psychology , 21(5), 640–649. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105314532973

64.

Topcu

Ç.

, & Erdur-Baker

Ö.

(2010). The Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory (RCBI): Validity and reliability studies. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences , 5, 660–664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.161

65.

Wang

, Liu

, Tan

, & Zheng

(2017). The moderating effect of dispositional mindfulness on the relationship between materialism and mental health. Personality and Individual Differences , 107, 131–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.041

66.

Wang

, Wang

, & Lei

(2021). Gender differences between student-student relationship and cyberbullying perpetration: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 36(19-20), 9187-9207. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519865970

67.

Wang

, Pomerantz

E. M.

, & Chen

(2007). The role of parents’ control in early adolescents’ psychological functioning: A longitudinal investigation in the United States and China. Child Development , 78(5), 1592–1610. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01085.x

68.

Wang

, & Fan

(2017). Revision of the Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory among junior high school students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology , 25(6), 1031–1034. https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2017.06.008

69.

Wang

, Gao

, Yang

, Zhao

, & Wang

(2020). Parental phubbing and adolescents’ depressive symptoms: Self-esteem and perceived social support as moderators. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 49(2), 427–437. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-10019-01185-x

70.

Wang

, Yang

, Wang

, & Lei

(2019). Childhood maltreatment, moral disengagement, and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration: Fathers’ and mothers’ moral disengagement as moderators. Computers in Human Behavior , 95, 48–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.01.031

71.

Williams

G. C.

, Hedberg

V. A.

, Cox

E. M.

, & Deci

E. L.

(2000). Extrinsic life goals and health-risk behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 30(8), 1756–1771. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02466.x

72.

Yan

, Zhang

, Ran

, Li

, & Niu

(2020). Relationship between parental psychological control and problem behaviours in youths: A three-level meta-analysis. Children and Youth Services Review , 112, 104900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104900

73.

Zarotti

, Povah

, & Simpson

(2020). Mindfulness mediates the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and resilience in higher education students. Personality and Individual Differences , 156, 109795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109795

74.

Zhang

, Chu

, & Fan

(2019). Peer victimization and cyberbullying: A mediating moderation model. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology , 27, 148–152. https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2019.01.030

75.

Zhao

, Zhang

, Du

, & Zheng

(2014). Relationship between social support and depression, loneliness of migrant children: Resilience as a moderator and mediator. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology , 22(3), 512–521. https://doi.org/10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2014.03.077