Ferreira, PaulaVeiga Simão, AnaPereira, Nádia SalgadoPaulino, PaulaOliveira, Sofia2024-02-112024-02-112020-02-17Ferreira, P. C., Veiga Simão, A. M., Pereira, N. S., Paulino, P., & Oliveira, S. (2021). Online verbal aggression, social relationships, and self-efficacy beliefs. New Media & Society, 23(5), 960-981. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448209055311461-4448http://hdl.handle.net/10451/62576This study aims to understand whether the relationships adolescent bystanders of cyberbullying have with the victim and other bystanders and their self-efficacy beliefs may affect their use of aggressive language online. Students (676, Mage=14.10, SD=2.74, 55.5% male) answered questions about social media use, self-efficacy to solve cyberbullying situations, interpersonal relationships, and their use of verbal aggression to communicate online. Through structural equation modeling, results demonstrated that having a relationship with the victim or other bystanders mediated the relationship between observing cyberbullying behavior and bystanders’ use of aggressive language online. The effect of observing cyberbullying behavior through having a relationship with the victim or other bystanders was lower than its direct effect on adolescent bystanders’ use of aggressive language. Self-efficacy beliefs mediated the relationship between having a relationship with the victim and other bystanders and adolescents’ use of aggressive language online. Implications for intervention in interpersonal communication online are proposed.engBystandersCyberbullyingInterpersonal communicationSelf-efficacy beliefsSocial relationshipsjournal article2024-01-31cv-prod-106623910.1177/14614448209055311461-7315