The role of self-esteem, lover-centeredness and social network sites use in the relationship between resilience and cyberbullying victimization

This study aims to examine the mediating roles of self-esteem, lover-centeredness, and social networking site use in the relationship between resilience and cyberbullying victimization. In this context, the primary objectives were to develop the Lover-Centeredness Scale (LCS) associated with cyberbullying victimization and to adapt the Short-Form of the State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES-S) into Turkish. Initially, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) findings for the LCS and the SSES-S were examined with 201 participants (77.61% female; mean age = 24.93). Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability, and levels of criterion-related, convergent, and discriminant validity of the LCS and the SSES-S were evaluated with 204 participants (69.12% female; mean age = 23.93). Additionally, the test-retest reliability of the LCS and SSES-S was assessed with 25 participants (88% female; mean age = 22.92). The results indicated that the developed 9-item, 3-factor LCS is valid and reliable. Additionally, the 10-item, 3-factor structure of the SSES-SF was confirmed. Furthermore, the LCS demonstrated strong measurement invariance across participants' gender and relationship status, while the SSES-S did so across gender. In the next phase of the study, mediation analyses were conducted with 597 participants (77.1% female; mean age = 22.25), as recommended by G*Power. The findings revealed that while resilience did not directly predict cyberbullying victimization, it significantly predicted it when accounting for the mediating effects of self-esteem, lover-centeredness, and social networking site use. Multi-group analysis showed that the resilience of individuals with a lover significantly predicted lower levels of lover-centeredness compared to those without a lover. The findings were discussed in relation to the literature, and recommendations were made for researchers, field practitioners, and policymakers.