The Role of Perceived Social Support and Resilience in College Cyberbullying Victimization and Mental Health: A Serial Mediation Model

Cyberbullying goes beyond high school and can negatively affect college students' mental health. The purpose of this research was to examine a serial mediation model to test the indirect effect of cyberbullying victimization on depressive symptoms through perceived social support and then resilience. This study used a convenience sample of 599 college students who are attending four-year universities in the Southern region of the U.S. Results indicated that cyberbullying victimization was positively associated with depressive symptoms but did not find the mediating role of resilience in the association between cyberbullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Findings from the serial mediation analysis showed that cyberbullying victimization influenced depressive symptoms through perceived social support first and then resilience. This study will provide information for practitioners, educators, and policymakers on improvements for anti-cyberbullying programs, aiming to decrease cyberbullying victimization, thus preventing behavioral and psychological problems.