Cyber Aggression-Victimization Among Malaysians Youth

The usage of the Internet and other related technologies has never been without any consequences. One such consequence is what commonly referred to as cyber aggression, a new form of abusing someone online, which has become a new growing problem in today's society. Cyber aggression offers convenient opportunities to humiliate, bully, or harass another person online. Global studies on cyber aggression found that youths who were aggressed online are reported feeling depressed, anxious, afraid, showing poor academic performance, experiencing eating disorders, and substance abuse usages such as drugs and alcohol. On that account, the study aims to investigate the interrelationships between predictive factors namely peer attachment, parental attachment, exposure to the Internet and cyber aggression-victimization among youths. The renowned general aggression model (GAM) is applied to understand the phenomenon. A sample of 430 urban youths aged between 13 and 18 years living within Klang Valley area were randomly selected to participate in the study. Data were gathered through a self-report questionnaire and later analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. The results revealed several noteworthy findings; the majority of respondents made use of the Internet approximately 7 to 21 hours per day especially during weekends with surfing social media being the major purpose, followed by entertainment and playing online games. A relatively significant number of youths are engaged with cyber victimization through written-verbal and online exclusion. Finally, the structural path analysis indicates that the Internet exposure is the strongest predictor associated with cyber aggression-victimization. Based on these findings, the implications and recommendations for future investigations with reference to the current theoretical framework and empirical findings on cyber aggression-victimization are thoroughly discussed. Keywords: Cyber aggression, Cyberbullying, Internet exposure, Klang Valley, Parental and peer attachment, Victimization, Youth.