Relationship Between Cyberbullying, Positive Mental Health, Stress Symptoms and Teachers' Cybercompetence

ABSTRACTThe present study investigated how teachers' cyberbullying experiences are associated with their mental health. Data of 372 school teachers in Germany were assessed via online surveys. Overall, 91.1% of the teachers reported that cyberbullying is an issue at their school, and 69.9% wanted more training in how to manage cyberbullying. In a moderated mediation analysis, the positive association between cyberbullying experience and stress symptoms was mediated negatively by positive mental health (PMH), i.e., the higher the cyberbullying experience, the lower the PMH and the higher the stress symptoms. Teachers' cybercompetence in managing cyberbullying moderated the link between PMH and stress symptoms. Specifically, the higher the cybercompetence, the weaker their association. Therefore, among persons with high cybercompetence the decrease of PMH caused by cyberbullying experience could contribute to a lesser increase in stress symptoms. Teachers' training in managing cyberbullying is discussed as an approach to protect teachers' and students' mental health.KEYWORDS: Cyberbullying experiencepositive mental healthstress symptomsteachers' cybercompetence in managing cyberbullying AcknowledgmentsWe thank the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung and especially Dr Thomas Clausen for the cooperation on the present project.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementData used in the present study will be made available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.Additional informationFundingThe author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.Notes on contributorsJulia BrailovskaiaJulia Brailovskaia, PhD, is a psychologist and postdoctoral research fellow and faculty member (Privat-Dozent) at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Her research interests include risk and protective factors of mental health and problematic media use.Stephanie L. DiezStephanie L. Diez, PhD, is an associate professor at the Pennsylvania Western University. Her research focuses on the intersections between technology use behaviors, health, and wellness among adolescents and adults.Jürgen MargrafJürgen Margraf, PhD, Alexander von Humboldt Professor, is a psychologist and head of the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. His research interests include risk and protective factors of mental health, depression, and anxiety disorders.