Offline, Online, and Over the Line: Shared and Unique Predictors of Victimization from Traditional Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Technology-facilitated Sexual Exploitation Among College Students

Abstract Peer victimization among college students is a prevalent phenomenon, with estimates ranging from 43% for cyberbullying victimization (CV) to 83% for technology-facilitated sexual exploitation (TFSE). Experiences of victimization have been linked with many negative outcomes, including anxiety, depression, reduced school performance, and suicidal ideation. Thus, uncovering possible risk and protective factors of peer victimization may be beneficial for developing prevention and intervention programs. In the current study, under the umbrella of the General Aggression Model, we explored the role of two risk factors (normative beliefs about aggression and moral disengagement) and four protective factors (resilience, mindfulness, student connectedness, and self-compassion) in predicting involvement with three types of victimization (traditional bullying victimization - TV, CV, and TFSE) among a sample of 231 students from two universities in the United States. Two waves of data were collected using validated self-report surveys. Regarding prevalence, we found that 42% of the sample reported experiencing at least one form of CV in the past 6 months, whereas the prevalence of TFSE and TV were somewhat higher (65% and 83%, respectively). A series of cross-lagged structural equation modeling analyses revealed no significant cross-lagged relationships between normative beliefs about aggression or moral disengagement and any of the three forms of victimization. However, among the protective factors, lower levels of self-compassion and resilience were associated with higher levels of TFSE and TV, and lower levels of mindfulness were associated with higher levels of TFSE. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention and intervention programs among college students.