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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1505422
This article is part of the Research Topic New Ideas and International Perspectives on School Bullying: A Multidisciplinary Approach View all articles

Cybervictimization and Emotional Symptoms in adolescents: Mediating role of psychological flexibility versus inflexibility

Provisionally accepted
María del Mar Molero Jurado María del Mar Molero Jurado 1África Martos Martínez África Martos Martínez 1*María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes 1Rosa María del Pino Salvador Rosa María del Pino Salvador 1José Jesús Gázquez Linares José Jesús Gázquez Linares 2
  • 1 University of Almeria, Almería, Spain
  • 2 Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Providencia, Chile

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Cyberbullying significantly affects adolescents, increasing the risk of negative emotional symptoms. This study explores how psychological flexibility and inflexibility may mediate this relationship, focusing on adolescent mental health in the context of cyberbullying. Methods: A sample of 2171 secondary school students, aged 11-18 years, was used to assess cyberbullying, emotional symptoms, and levels of psychological flexibility and inflexibility. Results: Cybervictimization showed a direct relationship with emotional symptoms and psychological inflexibility. Psychological flexibility was negatively associated with cybervictimization and positively associated with mental health, acting as a protective mediator against the association of cyberbullying. Conclusions: Psychological flexibility emerges as a key factor in reducing the negative association of cybervictimization in adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of developing strategies to improve psychological flexibility in young people as a means to strengthen their resilience in the face of cyberbullying and its emotional consequences.

    Keywords: Psychological flexibility, cyberbullying, adolescence, Psychological inflexibility, Cybervictimization, Emotional symptoms

    Received: 02 Oct 2024; Accepted: 17 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Molero Jurado, Martos Martínez, Pérez-Fuentes, del Pino Salvador and Gázquez Linares. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: África Martos Martínez, University of Almeria, Almería, Spain

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