The Mediating Process of Social Learning in Cyberspace: Korean College Students’ Cyberbullying

Given the massive power of the virtual environment of online networks, the prevalence of cyberbullying and the misuse of information technology continue to increase with the development of more advanced information technology. This study investigated the process of cyberbullying in social media amon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science computer review 2023-12, Vol.41 (6), p.2090-2104
Main Authors: Lee, Gang, Jang, Hyunseok, Lee, Yun-Suk
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bullying
College students
Colleges & universities
Cyberbullying
Imitation
Information technology
Internet
Learning
Reinforcement
Social learning
Social media
Structural equation modeling
Students
Undergraduate students
Undergraduate study
Virtual environments
Virtual networks
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Summary:Given the massive power of the virtual environment of online networks, the prevalence of cyberbullying and the misuse of information technology continue to increase with the development of more advanced information technology. This study investigated the process of cyberbullying in social media among the Korean college student population. The researchers sought to examine the effect of social structural factors on cyberbullying that are mediated by social learning (differential association, differential reinforcement, definitions, and imitation). A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to implement the in-class self-report survey of 711 undergraduate students from two Korean universities. Using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, the results indicated that the social learning constructs of differential association, differential reinforcement, definitions, and imitation substantially mediated the effect of the sociodemographic factors of age and gender on cyberbullying among Korean college students.
ISSN:0894-4393
1552-8286
DOI:10.1177/08944393221132641