Do Negative Emotions Matter? Paths From Victimization to Cyber and Traditional Bullying From a General Strain Theory Perspective

Abstract

Drawing on theoretical propositions of general strain theory (GST), the current study aims to examine whether general victimization as a source of criminogenic strain predicts two different types of bullying, traditional and cyberbullying perpetrations, and whether negative emotionality, such as trait-based anger and depression, conditions the effects of general victimization on bullying. Using a Korean adolescent sample, we adopt cross-lagged dynamic panel models to investigate the longitudinal effects and interactions of strain and negative emotionality. The results indicate a significant influence of general victimization on both types of bullying perpetrations, as expected, while the conditioning effects of negative emotionality are found only for traditional bullying, which may reflect differences in the nature of the two different forms of bullying.