The Relationship Between Perceived Childhood Harsh Parental Discipline and Cyberbullying among College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

According to the dynamic cascade model of development, the present study explored the effect mechanism of the relationship between perceived childhood harsh parental discipline, deviant peer affiliation, core self-evaluation, and cyberbullying from the perspectives of parents, peers, and self. A total of 9277 college students completed a series of questionnaires about perceived childhood harsh parental discipline, deviant peer affiliation, core self-evaluation, and cyberbullying. The results showed that both perceived childhood parental psychological aggression and corporal punishment positively predicted cyberbullying and that perceived childhood parental corporal punishment showed a greater effect. Deviant peer affiliation mediated the effect of perceived childhood parental psychological aggression and corporal punishment on cyberbullying, and core self-evaluation moderated the relationship between deviant peer affiliation and cyberbullying. Meanwhile, the moderating role of core self-evaluation in the relationship between deviant peer affiliation and cyberbullying is stronger for males than for females. Specifically, these findings guided the prevention and intervention of cyberbullying.