Examining the Moderating Effects of Neuroticism and Gender in the Mediation of Deviant Peer Affiliation to Cyberbullying Through Moral Disengagement

Deviant peer affiliation (DPA) and moral disengagement (MD) play a vital role in adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration (CP). However, moderating mechanisms underlying this association remain largely unknown. Based on the Social-ecological conceptual framework of cyberbullying (SECF-C), we tested a moderated mediating model to examine whether MD mediated the relationships between DPA and CP and whether these mediating processes were moderated by neuroticism and gender. A sample of 777 adolescents (aged from 11 to 16 years) participated in our survey. The results revealed that MD partially mediated the connections between DPA and CP. Also, neuroticism moderated the relationship between DPA and CP in adolescent boys. Finally, neuroticism and gender moderated the relationship between MD and CP, revealing the conditional indirect effects of DPA on CP via MD. The indirect impact was more pronounced for boys and high neuroticism. These mechanisms have potential implications for developing tailored interventions and preventive strategies.