Investigation of the relationship between cyberbullying, cybervictimization, alexithymia and anger expression styles among adolescents

• Males engage in cyberbullying more than females.
• No significant difference between males and females in terms of cybervictimization.
• Alexithymia, anger, and internet use duration explain the increase in cyberbullying.
• Alexithymia, anger, and internet use duration explain the increase in victimization.

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between cyberbullying, cybervictimization, alexithymia, and anger expression styles among adolescents in terms of gender and internet use duration. A total of 1257 students of which 650 were female, 607 were male, who study at 14 high schools in Kagithane district of the Province of Istanbul, in 2012–2013 academic year participated in the study. Research findings reveal that, there is a significant difference between male and female students in terms of cyberbullying scores, in favor of male students; and there is no significant difference between male and female students in terms of cybervictimization scores. Difficulty identifying feelings and externally oriented thinking (alexithymia); anger-in, anger-out, and internet use duration can explain the increase in cyberbullying significantly. Difficulty identifying feelings (alexithymia), trait anger, and internet use duration can explain the increase in cybervictimization significantly.