Relative Deprivation and Moral Disengagement as Serial Mediators Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Psychological Distress Symptoms Among Victim-Only Five-Year Higher Vocational College Students

Cyberbullying victimization is a public health concern associated with adolescents’ psychological distress symptoms. This cross-sectional study examined whether relative deprivation and moral disengagement were statistically associated with the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and psychological distress symptoms among victim-only five-year higher vocational college students. Among 4290 valid respondents, 1419 students reported at least one cyberbullying victimization experience. Because the present study focused on victimization without concurrent perpetration, 1107 victim-only students were included in the primary analysis. Participants completed self-report measures of cyberbullying victimization, relative deprivation, moral disengagement, and psychological distress symptoms. After controlling for gender and age, cyberbullying victimization was positively associated with psychological distress symptoms. The bootstrap results indicated significant indirect associations through relative deprivation, through moral disengagement, and through the serial pathway from relative deprivation to moral disengagement. These findings suggest that relative deprivation and moral disengagement are statistically linked to the association between cyberbullying victimization and psychological distress symptoms among victim-only vocational students. Given the cross-sectional self-report design, the mediation findings should be interpreted as evidence of statistical associations rather than temporal ordering or causal mechanisms.