Abstract:
Interpersonal strengths, such as family well-being and community support, are important protective factors and help individuals cope with adversity (Grych et al., 2015). Previous research primarily focuses on physical and psychological victimization in the “offline world,” though more recently, the literature has expanded to include cyberbullying and unwanted online interpersonal solicitations. This may be due to the rising prevalence of technology in our lives, as demonstrated by well over a majority of adults using the Internet (Pew Research Center, 2015b) and owning a cellphone (Pew Research Center, 2015a). Research is lacking on other forms of online polyvictimizations, such as money and identity theft, and intrusive online practices. It is especially important to examine these types of adversities as they become more widespread: there were over 269,000 reported complaints about internet-related scams in 2014 (Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2014). The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the relationships between interpersonal protective factors, cyberbullying, and these understudied forms of online victimization in a rural Appalachian setting. (Author Abstract)