Abstract: With the popularity of the Internet and electronic communication, bullying has shifted from the real world to the virtual world. Cyberbullying can cause a lot of bad effects on individuals. Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization are associated with mental health consequences, including higher anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. Cyberbullying has a high incidence among adolescents. Studies suggest that 44.2%of individuals have experienced at least one cyberbullying and 21.4% of individuals have been cyberbullied. So, it is necessary to explore the risk factors and protective factors of cyberbullying. Childhood maltreatment is one of the most important predictors of cyberbullying. Individuals who have experienced childhood maltreatment are more likely to engage in cyberbullying. But the underlying mechanism of which childhood maltreatment affects cyberbullying remains unclear. The aims of this study are to explore whether childhood maltreatment can significantly predict cyberbullying perpetration, and further explore the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. The data for the current study were collected as part of the first wave of an ongoing longitudinal study. A total of 2407 junior high school students from seven middle schools in Taiyuan and Changzhi, Shanxi province participated in this investigation. Participants aged 11~16 (1191 boys, 1202 girls, 14 participants without gender report). The average age was 12.75 years. After given informed consents, we used questionnaires to measure levels of childhood maltreatment, cyberbullying, self-esteem, and friendship quality. Psychology graduate students worked as main examiners, and participants completed questionnaires in a quiet classroom. We took gender and age as control variables in this study. Before testing hypotheses, all variables were standardized. First, SPSS 23.0 was used to test the correlation between variables. Then, the mediating effect of self-esteem and the moderating effect of friendship quality were tested by the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The correlation analysis showed that: Childhood maltreatment was positively correlated with cyberbullying perpetration. Childhood maltreatment was negatively correlated with self-esteem and friendship quality. Self-esteem was negatively correlated with cyberbullying perpetration. Friendship quality was positively correlated with self-esteem. The testing for moderated mediation model indicated that: (1) Childhood maltreatment significantly positively predicted cyberbullying perpetration. (2) Self-esteem mediated the relation between childhood maltreatment and cyberbullying perpetration, even after controlling for gender and age. (3) Friendship quality moderated the relation between childhood maltreatment and self-esteem. Childhood maltreatment significantly predicted self-esteem for both high and low friendship quality. But childhood maltreatment was a stronger predictor of self-esteem when friendship quality was high. Our findings have several theoretical and practical contributions. From a theoretical point of view, it provides an empirical framework for researchers through testing the mediating effect of self-esteem and the moderating effect of friendship quality. These results could clear the underlying mechanisms between childhood maltreatment and cyberbullying perpetration. From a practical point of view, this study provides guidance for the next intervention works. The incidence of cyberbullying can be effectively reduced by improving teenagers’ self-esteem. In addition, previous studies reveal that individuals with low friendship quality have maladaptive problems, but this study reveals that individuals with high friendship quality also have internalization problems. We should pay attention to this group in the future.

Key words: childhood maltreatment, self-esteem, friendship quality, cyberbullying perpetration, adolescent

摘要： 本研究采用问卷法对2407名青少年进行调查，探究儿童期虐待对青少年网络欺负行为的影响，以及自尊的中介作用和友谊质量的调节作用。结果表明：（1）儿童期虐待显著正向预测青少年网络欺负行为。（2）自尊在儿童期虐待与青少年网络欺负行为之间起部分中介作用。（3）儿童期虐待对青少年网络欺负行为的间接效应的前半段路径受到友谊质量的调节。友谊质量高、低水平下儿童期虐待对自尊的预测作用均显著，但友谊质量较高的青少年群体中儿童期虐待对自尊的预测作用更强。

关键词: 儿童期虐待, 自尊, 友谊质量, 网络欺负行为, 青少年