The Role of Self-Esteem in Protecting Against Cyber-Victimization and Gaming Disorder Symptoms Among Adolescents: A Temporal Dynamics Analysis

Previous literature has suggested that victimization is linked to low self-esteem and increases the symptoms of gaming disorder. However, little is known about the intra-individual processes, and the temporal dynamics of cyber-victimization, self-esteem, and gaming disorder symptoms. To address this gap, a three-year longitudinal study was performed using data collected at six different time points from 4206 Chinese adolescents (aged 12–17 years; 50.4% boys). Results of random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) indicated that at the within-person level, the fluctuation in self-esteem weakly predicted late cyber-victimization, and the fluctuation of cyber-victimization also weakly predicted late self-esteem. Additionally, the current study identified an interactive effect between self-esteem and gaming disorder symptoms at the within-person level. Fluctuations in self-esteem negatively predicted late gaming disorder symptoms, and vice versa. However, when combining the three variables (i.e., cyber-victimization, self-esteem, and gaming disorder symptoms) into one RI-CLPM, the results did not support the mediation of self-esteem in the relationship between cyber-victimization and gaming disorder symptoms at the within-person level. Moreover, fluctuations in self-esteem negatively predicted late gaming disorder symptoms and cyber-victimization at the within-person level in the RI-CLPM. These findings emphasize the protective role of self-esteem developed against cyber-victimization and gaming disorder symptoms among adolescents.