The influence of the cyber-social environment on fear of victimization: Cyberbullying and school

Using a nationally representative sample of over 3500 students aged 12–18 years, the present study examines the relationship between cyberbullying and fear of victimization through a five-stage analysis. The analyses conducted address two primary research questions. First, whether or not cyberbullying victimization has a direct relationship to fear of victimization, net of the effects of traditionally important controls. Second, in further exploration of the cyberbullying – fear relationship – what other factors still have a direct relationship to fear of victimization among those students experiencing cyberbullying. Logistic regression modeling of the relationship finds that cyberbullying victimization does produce a positive and significant linkage to fear of victimization net of the effects of other past victimization experiences, and a disorderly school environment. Further analysis suggests that among those who report experiencing cyberbullying little else correlates to fear of victimization.