The Association Between Cyberbullying and Traditional Bullying Victimization in Relation to Adolescent Mobile Phone Addiction: The Mediating Role of Friendship Quality and Depression

Abstract

Objectives: The present study explored the relationship of cyberbullying and traditional bullying on mobile phone addiction among adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of 632 high school students (M _age ± SD = 18.519 ± 0.161, 78.8% girls) recruited from the internet. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using Mplus 8.3 was employed to investigate both direct and indirect effects. Results: The study revealed three key findings: First, victimization from cyberbullying and traditional bullying were positively correlated, and each showed significant negative associations with friendship quality. Second, cyberbullying victimization and mobile phone addiction were directly linked to higher depression, while poorer friendship quality predicted increased depression. Critically, path analysis demonstrated dual mediating effects: (1) Both types of victimization indirectly exacerbated mobile phone addiction through the sequential pathway of reduced friendship quality and elevated depression (cyberbullying victimization: B = 0.014; traditional bullying victimization: B = 0.024); (2) Cyber victimization exhibited an additional direct pathway via depression without involving friendship quality (B = 0.139). Conclusions: The interaction between the internet and traditional bullying drives adolescent smartphone addiction through a dual role of damaging real-life social connections (friendship quality) and exacerbating emotional distress (depression). The prevention and control of adolescent mobile phone addiction requires the construction of a three-dimensional system of “bullying intervention social repair emotional management”, especially the establishment of an early digital recognition system for online bullying and a linkage relationship between offline peer support networks.