The Importance of Narcissism and Impulsivity for Bullying and Cyberbullying Perpetration

Bullying and cyberbullying remain serious public health concerns threatening the well-being of adolescents. The current study tested the links between narcissism and impulsivity and measures of both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Data were collected from 575 Turkish adolescents (54.4% female, Mage = 15.86, SD = 1.15). Hierarchical logistic regressions tested the main study hypotheses. Findings showed that narcissism and impulsivity were each independently and additively positively associated with both bullying and cyberbullying perpetration. Findings from a competing, ex post facto alternative model provided evidence that impulsivity was a mediator in the narcissism-bullying perpetration (partial) and the narcissism-cyberbullying perpetration links (full). Findings highlight the importance of considering both narcissism and impulsivity in evaluating the factors contributing to both forms of bullying behaviors, which has important prevention and intervention effort implications.