Spirituality Studies 11-2 Fall 2025 57 Peter Žitný et al. cused strategies (Balogh-Pécsi et al. 2024, 4; Őztekin and Ata 2024, 81; Yang et al. 2022, 166), with girls more often showing tendencies toward seeking support, denial, and emotional exhaustion (Cocoradă and Mihalaşcu 2012, 191). Cybervictims who try to change the situation report fewer health problems than cybervictims who avoid the situation or try to forget about the cyberbullying (Völlink et al. 2013). Adaptive coping strategies are negatively associated with cyberbullying and cybervictimization (McLoughlin 2019, 4307). Active coping strategies have been shown to be a protective factor for cyberbullying behavior, whereas avoidant and negative coping strategies and maternal education were risk factors. Gender, family income, and paternal education were not predictive factors for cyberbullying behavior (Erbiçer et al. 2023, 73). Victims of cybervictimization use multiple coping strategies, such as blocking the message or contact, avoidance or ignoring the situation, confrontation, or seeking emotional or instrumental support (Worsley et al. 2019, 28). Coping strategies have positive effects on subjective well-being, reduce stress, prevent the negative effects of cybervictimization, and contribute to mental health (Shukla and Chouhan 2023). Loneliness is understood as how a person perceives, experiences and evaluates their isolation and lack of communication with other people (De Jong Gieveld and Havens 1987, 112), distinguishing between social and emotional loneliness. Social loneliness is a state where an individual lacks a wider social network of friends or acquaintances, leading to a feeling of social isolation. Emotional loneliness results from the absence of a close, intimate bond (e.g. a partner or a confidant) that provides emotional support and a sense of security. This concept was developed by De Jong-Gierveld and Havens (1987, 112), who emphasized that both types of loneliness reflect qualitatively different aspects of the lack of relationships. According to ŞahiN (2012, 836), loneliness is considered a significant predictor of victims of cyberbullying, with girls (Cava et al. 2020, 6) who were victims of cyberbullying experiencing higher levels of emotional loneliness. Grounded in theory that cybervictimization undermines adolescent well-being and that spirituality and adaptive coping may buffer risk (Tokunaga 2010, 284; Worsley et al. 2019, 28; Chai 2022, 21), this study aimed to: estimate prevalence and test gender differences; examine bivariate associations among cybervictimization, spirituality, resilient coping, and loneliness; and evaluate whether emotional loneliness, social loneliness, spirituality, and resilient coping uniquely predict cybervictimization when modeled together. 2 Methods 2.1 Sample and Procedure The research sample comprised 648 participants (123 boys, 19.0%; 525 girls, 81.0%). Participants ranged in age from 16 to 19 years (M = 17.8, SD = 1.10). Boys had a mean age of 17.7 years (SD = 1.06; range = 16–19), whereas girls averaged 17.9 years (SD = 1.11; range = 16–19). Data collection took place from January to March 2022 in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki for research involving human participants. The study received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of Trnava University in Trnava (Approval No. 3/2022). Participation was voluntary and anonymous, and respondents were informed of their right to withdraw at any time without consequences. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to inclusion. Data were collected by the research team both online and in person. Inclusion criteria required participants to be at least 16 years of age and not to have a diagnosis of ADHD or a specific learning disorder. 2.2 Measures Exposure to Bullying Online and Offline (6-item; Aizenkot and Kashy-Rosenbaum 2020). The questionnaire builds on prior instruments that examined cyberbullying and traditional bullying (Aizenkot and Kashy-Rosenbaum 2018; Heiman and Olenik-Shemesh 2015). It was subsequently adapted to investigate cyberbullying and cybervictimization (Aizenkot and Kashy-Rosenbaum 2020). In our study, we focused on cybervictimization, which was assessed with six items referring to the past year. Cybervictimization encompassed several forms of harm: verbal cybervictimization; disclosure of personal photographs or sensitive information without consent; and online exclusion from a group. Responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale (1 never, 5 quite often). Resilient Coping (4-item; Sinclair and Wallston 2004). The questionnaire assesses individuals’ coping strategies. It contains four items that capture how respondents perceive their strategies for managing difficulties. It covers four ways of coping with difficulties: seeking creative ways to handle the demands of the situation; control of reactions; growth of positive coping; and seeking ways to compensate for losses. Responses were measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). The
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUwMDU5Ng==