Childhood Emotional Abuse and Cyberbullying Perpetration Among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Trait Mindfulness

Abstract

Preliminary studies have indicated that childhood emotional maltreatment (i.e., abuse and neglect) can be associated with higher cyberbullying perpetration (CBP) among university students. The purpose of the present study was to test the direct and indirect effects of childhood emotional abuse (CEA) on CBP via trait mindfulness and trait emotional intelligence (TEI). A total of 470 adolescent students participated in the study and completed a questionnaire comprising measures of the aforementioned variables. Path analysis showed that trait mindfulness, but not TEI, was a partial mediator between CEA and CBP among the total sample, males, and females. Results indicated that there were other factors that explain the relationship between CEA and CBP in addition to lower mindfulness. These findings suggest that developing mindfulness-based intervention programs for adolescents who have been emotionally abused as a child may reduce their engagement in cyberbullying. This study is the first to document the direct role of CEA on CBP and indirect via trait mindfulness among adolescents.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Psychological Well-Being in Chinese College Students: Mediation Effect of Mindfulness

“…Thus, it is likely that ACEs may lead to lower PWB and poorer health outcomes by way of reduced mindfulness, a construct that is strongly related to emotional and self-regulation capacity. Indeed, studies have shown that ACEs are negatively related to mindfulness [ 55 , 56 ] and may serve as a mediator between ACEs and PWB or other related health outcomes [ 57 , 58 , 59 ]. For example, using 743 patients aged between 18 and 30, Nagel and colleagues found that ACEs were significantly and negatively associated with dispositional mindfulness ( p < 0.001), a trait that allows one to be aware of the present moment.…”

“…MAAS assesses dispositional mindfulness, or open and receptive awareness of and attention to what is taking place in the present moment. The results showed that mindfulness acts as a partial mediator of the association between ACEs and cyberbullying [ 58 ]. Different measures have been used to assess mindfulness, with some focusing on dispositional mindfulness (e.g., MAAS and CAMS-R), while others offering more comprehensive measures that include both mindful attention and metacognition (e.g., FFMQ) [ 55 , 56 , 57 ].…”

Childhood Emotional Abuse and Cyberbullying Perpetration: The Role of Dark Personality Traits

“…Second, health professionals who attempt to reduce cyberbullying perpetration should inform and warn those who perpetrate cyberbullying about the undesired effects of childhood emotional abuse on their personality and behavioral development. This information would help promote improvement of self-awareness and recognition of the underlying impulses that lead to the engagement in aggressive and antisocial online behaviors (Emirtekin et al, 2019). related to cyber aggression, childhood trauma, and behavioral addictions.…”

“…If early childhood experiences have important effects on behavioral development (Bandura, 2001), then individuals who have been exposed to emotionally abusive behaviors as a child are at increased risk of becoming abusive individuals, the so-called cycle of violence (Wang et al, 2019). This cycle might not only manifest itself in interpersonal violence but may also manifest in the online space as a consequence of greater moral disengagement (Wang et al, 2019) and limited compassion for oneself and lack of emotional intelligence (Emirtekin et al, 2019). As such, it was expected that childhood emotional abuse would be associated with cyberbullying.…”

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mindfulness in Chinese College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Empirical evidence indicates that ACEs are negatively associated with mindfulness; this is true across applications of various mindfulness measurement instruments (16,18,19). Emirtekin et al (18) found that adolescents' dispositional mindfulness-defined as open and receptive awareness of and attention to the present moment and measured by the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)-has a significant negative correlation with childhood emotional abuse (N = 470; r = −0.46; p < 0.001). In another study by Nagel et al (19), there was a significant negative association (p < 0.001) between ACEs and dispositional mindfulness, measured by the Revised Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS-R).…”