Buffering or enhancing? An exploratory study of gender differences in the moderating role of self-control in cyberbullying perpetration

Abstract

Despite growing attention to the moderating role of self-control in the association between crime and its correlates, gender differences in this role remain underexplored. This study explored gender differences in the moderating role of self-control in the context of cyberbullying. We examined whether self-control moderates the links between cyberbullying perpetration via mobile devices and two cyberbullying igniters: 1) cyberbullying victimization and 2) association with peers having prior cyberbullying behaviors, and whether this moderating role varies across genders. A tobit regression analysis of 244 South Korean college students showed that among female students, self-control significantly moderated the link between cyberbullying and association with peers having prior cyberbullying behaviors. The relationship was stronger among female participants with higher levels of self-control, but not for male ones. The enhancing effect of self-control was significantly greater for females than males. The implications of gender differences and their relevance to cyberbullying are also discussed.