The Moderating Role of Family Functioning in the Relationship between Dark Triad Personality and Cyberbullying among Undergraduates

Abstract

The emergence of modern technology has increased negative vices such as cyberbullying. This form of aggression has increased in intensity among the youths. However, ways of ameliorating this menace to curtail its debilitating effects have not been fully explored. Thus, the present study aimed to examine the moderating role of family functioning in the relationship between dark triad personality and cyberbullying among undergraduates. The participants were five hundred and sixty-five (565) undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 30 (Mean age 21.99; SD = 2.82) drawn through purposive sampling from a sample of Nigerian undergraduate students. Self-report measures of the 27-item Short Dark Triad Questionnaire (SD3), Cyber Victim and Bullying Scale (CVBS), and Family APGAR Scale were used for data collection. The hypotheses were tested using the Hayes PROCESS macro for SPSS version 3.00. The results showed that dark triad personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) were positively associated with cyberbullying among undergraduate students. Family functioning is negatively associated with cyberbullying. In addition, family functioning moderated the relationship between dark triad personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and cyberbullying among undergraduate students. The study revealed that dysfunctional family functioning increased the extent to which students engage in cyberbullying in the presence of a dark triad personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy).