The interplay of perceived parenting practices and bullying victimization among Hong Kong adolescents

This study explored the interplay of adolescents’ perceived maternal and paternal practices and their associations with traditional and cyberbullying victimization experiences among adolescents. Participants included 439 Grades 7–11 adolescents (242 girls) from five secondary schools in Hong Kong. Moderation analyses were conducted controlling for adolescents sex. No strengthening effects were found between maternal × paternal control and maternal × paternal autonomy-support in relation to bullying victimization experiences. No buffering effect of parental autonomy-support was evident in the association between parental control and traditional bullying victimization. However, high levels of paternal autonomy-support were associated with more frequent reports of cyberbullying victimization at high levels of maternal control but not low levels. A similar pattern emerged for maternal autonomy-support and paternal control. These findings imply that inconsistent parenting might increase adolescents’ likelihood for cyberbullying victimization.