The integration of virtual reality into everyday life is changing sociocultural practices, including those related to cyberaggression, which causes negative consequences for mental health and well-being. Particular attention needs to be paid to the poorly researched but widespread roles of bystanders and defenders in cyberaggression (Machackova, 2020; Polanco-Levican, Salvo-Garrido, 2021).

The aim is to study the behavioral witness strategies in cyberaggression in VR and their relation to personal and psychophysiological characteristics.

50 adolescents aged 14-18 years old (50% female) witnessed cyberaggression in an experimental situation in the virtual space of VR-chat. Participants also filled Ten-Item Personality Inventory (Gosling et al., 2003; Egorova, Parshikova, 2016), I7-Impulsiveness (Eysenck, Eysenck, 1985; Kornilova, Dolnikova, 2011), Prosocial Behaviour (Furmanov, Kuhtova, 1998). To determine the functional state Heart rate variability (UPTF 1/30 Psychophysiologist, Mediсom) was measured before and after the experiment.

Behavioral strategies in VR-aggression were divided into uninvolved bystanders (58%) and defenders (42%). All participants experienced stress and functional state decline when faced with cyberaggression, but the defenders were more affected (U=207, p<0.043). Defenders were more likely to have higher social responsibility (U=207, p<0.056) and lower neuroticism (U=208, p<0.054). There were no significant differences in impulsiveness.

Cyberaggression in a virtual environment is stressful, especially for active defenders, who are more included in the situation compared to passive bystanders. The prosocial role of a defender rather than a passive bystander may be related to such characteristics as social responsibility and emotional stability, but not to impulsiveness. The research was supported by RSF (project No. 18-18-00365)

This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project # 18-18-00365.

The integration of digital technologies into everyday life leads to transformation of various socio-cultural practices, including related to destructive behavior. Among them, cyberaggression holds a leading position, especially in younger generation, and causes direct lasting negative impact on the psychological state of participants and affects (Martínez-Monteagudo et al., 2019; Wright, Wachs, 2020).

The goal of the study is to analyze the relationship between offline and online aggressions and the strength of negative emotional experiences of adolescents and youth, as well as parents’ awareness of this experience with their children.

The questionnaire was completed by 3395 people: 1554 adolescents aged 12-17 and 736 young people aged 18-30 from 8 federal districts of Russia.

Respondents of all generations (64-74%) believe that people are more likely to experience painful or hostile situations in real life than online. Nevertheless, every fourth respondent (19-23%) says that events on the Internet can cause as much anxiety as events in real life. The least emotionally significant situations are flaming and cyberhate. Trolling causes strong feelings in every third adolescent, cyberstalking in every fifth, cyberbullying in every second. Both trolling and cyberstalking make girls more upset than boys, this is true for adolescents (12-13 and 14-17 years old) and youth (χ2=19.01-67.21, p<0.01, V=0.16-0.30).

Differences in emotional response to various types of cyberaggression require the development of differentiated approaches to the prevention of various situations of cyberaggression and the development of specific coping strategies in the collision with them. The reported study was funded by RFBR, project No. 20-013-00857.

The reported study was funded by RFBR, project No. 20-013-00857.

Cyberaggression including the most wide-spread variants of flaming (O’Sullivan, Flanagin, 2003; Voggeser et al., 2017) and trolling (Buckels et al., 2018) is affecting mental health of adolescents and youth although it could be (Kowalski, 2014; Wright, Wachs, 2020).

The aim was to study prevalence of flaming and trolling experience in Russian youth and adolescents and its relationship to general aggression and tolerance.

525 adolescents 12-13 years old, 1029 adolescents 14-17 years old, 736 youth 18-30 years from 8 Federal regions in Russia appraised their experience of flaming or trolling online (as initiators, victims and observers) using vignettes. 1105 parents of adolescents appraised whether their children experienced flaming or trolling online. Then they filled Aggression Questionnaire (Buss, Perry, 1992) and Tolerance Index (Psychodiagnostics…, 2008).

More than one-half of adolescents (51-58% in 12-13 years old and 64% in 14-17 years old) and youth (45-69%) reported experience of flaming and trolling online, mostly as observers (32-65%). Parents accurately appraised flaming experience in their children but underestimated trolling experience (p<.05). Adolescents and youth observing flaming online report higher hostility, anger and physical aggression (F=17.8-28.3, p<.01, η²=.02) while lower social tolerance (F=4.27, p<.05, η²=.01). In adolescents observing trolling online these effects are stronger than in youth observing trolling online (interaction: F=5.68, p<.05, η²=.01).

Observing trolling and flaming online is related to higher aggression and low tolerance in adolescents and youth and for adolescents the relationship is stronger. The reported study was funded by RFBR, project 20-013-00857.

The reported study was funded by RFBR, project 20-013-00857.