GAME ON? ONLINE FRIENDSHIP, CYBERBULLYING, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT IN HONG KONG CHINESE CHILDREN

Across 626 Hong Kong Chinese fifth and sixth graders, children's experiences of victimization and bullying in online and real life contexts were compared. Children reported their best friendships at school and online when playing massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs). With demographic variables, computer gaming habits, school victimization and real life friendship measures statistically controlled, online victimization uniquely and negatively explained variance in friendship satisfaction, while online friendship positively and significantly explained additional variance in children's social competence, friendship satisfaction, self esteem, and life satisfaction. This research demonstrates theoretical and practical importance of investigating social experiences (both negative, i.e., being cyber-bullied, and positive, i.e., building up online friendship) for early adolescents' psychosocial adjustment.