Risk factors for cyberbullying: The mediating role of empathy in adolescents in Italy in a one-year follow-up study

Cyberbullying consists of a set of antisocial behaviours undertaken using electronic or digital media, by one individual or a group of individuals, to repeatedly communicate hostile or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or discomfort on others. It is important that research efforts establish which risk factors may explain cyberbullying, as no single factor is a cause of any antisocial behaviour, including cyberbullying. A mix of contextual, individual, interpersonal, social and community factors may all be considered contributing factors, and personality traits such as empathy may play a role. There are two dimensions of empathy, namely understanding the emotions of others (cognitive empathy), and actually experiencing their emotional states (affective empathy). The current study was conducted with a sample of 385 Italian, 11–18-year-old students (M = 13.25, SD = 1.40; 47% males, 53% females), who completed an online questionnaire at two points in time, one year apart (T1 and T2). The results showed that males were significantly more likely to be involved in cyberbullying than females. Furthermore, students’ previous involvement in cyberbullying and low levels of empathy were significantly correlated with cyberbullying after one year. In addition, when the mediating role of empathy on cyberbullying was examined (separately for cognitive and affective empathy) the results suggested that male-female differences in empathy may at least partly explain male-female differences in cyberbullying. The implications of the results for potential intervention strategies are explored