ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1597985
This article is part of the Research TopicImplementing Mental Health Prevention and Promotion Programs: A Sustainable Approach - Volume IIView all 15 articles
The impact of online upward social comparisons on cyberbullying in the post-epidemic era: A moderated mediating model
Provisionally accepted
- Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
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Against the backdrop of the post-pandemic era, this study systematically examines the antecedents and underlying mechanisms of cyberbullying among college students.Building upon the social comparison theory, we particularly investigate how upward social comparison (USC) contributes to cyberbullying through the dual mediating pathways of cognitive and emotional relative deprivation (RD). Importantly, we further explore the moderating role of belief in a just world (BJW) in this psychological process. To test our theoretical framework, we collected survey data from 526 undergraduates and employed structural equation modeling with Bootstrap resampling. The analysis yielded two major findings: First, upward social comparison (USC) was significantly positively associated with cyberbullying, mediated by cognitive and emotional relative deprivation. Second, belief in a just world (BJW) negatively moderated the relationship between relative deprivation (RD) and cyberbullying. Specifically, both general and personal BJW weakened the positive link between cognitive relative deprivation (CRD) and cyberbullying. Similarly, emotional relative deprivation (ERD) effects were moderated by general and personal BJW. The findings not only expand the applicability of the social comparison theory and BJW but also provide empirical evidence for college mental health education.
Keywords: upward social comparison, cyberbullying, relative deprivation, Belief in a just world, Mediation model
Received: 22 Mar 2025; Accepted: 24 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yuan, Cheng and Ju. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Guangjie Yuan, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
Zihan Cheng, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
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