Experiences of childhood trauma and cyberbullying perpetration among adolescents in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT While there is substantial empirical evidence on the adverse effects of childhood trauma experiences, less is known about whether and how those experiences are related to cyberbullying perpetration in adolescents. This study examined the potential effects of childhood trauma experiences on cyberbullying perpetration with consideration of the role of emotion dysregulation. Participants (N = 1305) were recruited from elementary and middle schools (ages 9–16) in Yiyang County, Jiangxi Province, China during 2019. Multi-phase logistic regression analysis was used to explore childhood trauma and emotion dysregulation as predictors of cyberbullying experiences. The results showed that both childhood trauma experiences and emotion dysregulation were positively related to cyberbullying perpetration, with the relationship between sexual abuse and cyber-perpetration showing the highest coefficient among forms of childhood trauma. These findings may provide valuable information for use in cyberbullying prevention/intervention research and practice by clarifying avenues for alleviating childhood trauma experiences among minors.