Moving toward a theory

Research on cyberbullying has been steadily growing among scholars who endeavor to understand when and under what conditions it occurs. This study utilizes general aggression theory to contribute to a better theoretical understanding of the confluence of inputs that goes into decision-making involving cyberbullying perpetration. Young adult college students were surveyed to examine whether person-specific inputs, including trait verbal aggression, Internet self-efficacy, and social skills, contribute to cyberbullying perpetration. Results indicated that verbal aggression was consistently positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Further analysis revealed that the interaction between verbal aggressiveness and social skills on cyberbullying perpetration depended on one's level of Internet self-efficacy. At low levels of Internet self-efficacy, trait aggressiveness and social skills do little to inform cyberbullying perpetration; however, participants with high Internet self-efficacy and high trait verbal aggressiveness are less likely to send hurtful or embarrassing messages over the Internet or mobile technologies as their social skills grow. Contributions to theory and practice are discussed. General aggression theory is useful for explaining, investigating, and advancing cyberbullying scholarship.Trait verbal aggression is consistently positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration.Internet self-efficacy moderates the relationship between verbal aggression and social skill.The interaction of verbal aggressiveness and social skills on cyberbullying perpetration depends on Internet self-efficacy.At low Internet self-efficacy, verbal aggressiveness and social skills do little to predict cyberbullying perpetration.