Longitudinal Relations among Student-Student Relationships, Self-Esteem, and Cybervictimization: Examining Between- and Within-Person Associations.

Student-student relationships, as a vital classroom climate component, can decrease the likelihood of experiencing cybervictimization. Although the relation between student-student relationships and cybervictimization is theoretically expected, prior empirical studies have mainly focused on cross-sectional and between-person effects, largely overlooking the reciprocal within-person associations. Moreover, the mediating mechanisms underlying the relation between student-student relationships and adolescents’ cybervictimization have yet to be fully clarified. To address these gaps, the present study investigated the within-person reciprocal associations among student-student relationships, self-esteem, and cybervictimization, and examined the mediating effect of self-esteem. With a three-wave longitudinal design, the current study examined the process of influence and dynamic links by using the parallel process latent growth curve model and the random intercept cross-lagged model. Data from 2407 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 12.75, SD = 0.58, 49.94% girls at baseline) were collected at one-year intervals over three years. Results indicated that initial levels and change rates in student-student relationships and self-esteem significantly predicted the initial level and change rate cybervictimization. At the between-person level, there were significant relations among student-student relationships, self-esteem, and cybervictimization. At the within-person level, cybervictimization consistently and negatively predicted later student-student relationships, and self-esteem negatively predicted subsequent cybervictimization across time; these effects were unidirectional. The bidirectional associations between student-student relationships and self-esteem were stable. Additionally, student-student relationships indirectly predicted cybervictimization through self-esteem. These findings shed light on the relations among student-student relationships, self-esteem, and cybervictimization, underscoring the critical role of self-esteem as a potential intervention target for reducing adolescents’ cybervictimization.