Abstract
Coping strategies were associated with depression symptoms among cyberbullying victims. However, little is known about the moderating role of self-esteem in the association between coping strategies and depression symptoms among cyberbullying victims. Our study sought to determine whether self-esteem moderated the association between coping strategies and depression symptoms of cyberbullying victims among Vietnamese undergraduate students. A sample of 606 Vietnamese undergraduate students completed a questionnaire about strategies for dealing with cyberbullying, self-esteem and depression. The results showed that self-esteem moderated the association between problem solving strategy and depression symptoms B = −0.237, se = 0.067, CI = [-0.369, −0.105], between internalization strategy and depression symptoms of cyberbullying victims among Vietnamese undergraduate students B = −0.176, se = 0.066, CI = [-0.305, −0.047]. Our research has contributed to clarify the moderation mechanism of self-esteem in the association between coping strategies with cyberbullying and depression in victims.
1. Introduction
Depression is considered as a common type of mental disorder, depressed individuals often exhibit symptoms such as loss of interest or pleasure, depressed mood, decreased energy, guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite and poor concentration [1]. The proportion of undergraduate students with depression is significantly higher than the general population [2]. According to Saleem et al., [3]; nearly 90% of university students are cyberbullied. Martínez-Monteagudo et al. [4], reported that about 68.1% of cyberbullying victims (CBVs) among undergraduate students exhibited high levels of depression. In Vietnam, Ly and Vo reported that 96.2% of undergraduate students in the South of Vietnam experienced symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress [5]; meanwhile, another study reported that 52.3% of Vietnamese undergraduate students had mild to moderate depression and 24.2% of students had severe depression [6]. However, little is known about depression symptoms of victims of cyberbullying (CB) among Vietnamese undergraduate students. Meanwhile, many studies have proven that victims of CB have a high risk of depression [7,8].
