The rapid advancement of information technology has expanded social interactions while simultaneously generating negative phenomena such as cyberbullying, which significantly affects individuals' psychological conditions. Cyberbullying can disrupt empathy and self-worth in both victims and offenders, making it essential to be explored comprehensively. This study aims to explore and analyze the effects of empathy and self-worth on involvement in cyberbullying from the perspectives of victims and offenders. A quantitative survey method was employed, using random sampling techniques to recruit 950 high school students as participants. Data were collected through standardized instruments measuring empathy and self-worth, and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings revealed that empathy significantly influenced involvement in cyberbullying; individuals with higher empathy levels were more likely to become victims (β = 0.321, p = 0.003) but less likely to become offenders (β = -0.048, p = 0.044). In contrast, self-worth had a significant effect on victim involvement (β = 0.264, p = 0.003) but showed no significant relationship with offenders (β = 0.011, p = 0.647). These results indicate that empathy functions as a protective factor against becoming a cyberbullying offender while paradoxically increasing vulnerability to victimization. This study is expected to serve as a foundation for developing character-based intervention programs to prevent cyberbullying in educational environments.
Irmayanti et al. (Fri,) studied this question.