Psychological Security, Psychological Loneliness, and Age as the Predictors of Cyber-Bullying Among University Students.

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between cyber-bullying and psychological security, psychological loneliness, and age. In other words, it sought to identify the predictive power of these three variables on cyber-bullying among university students. Participants were 426 male and female Saudi university students aged between 18 and 36 years (M = 21.00, SD = 2.42). Three scales were used to probe cyber-bullying and psychological security and loneliness. Data analysis revealed that 17.6% of the participants were cyber-bullies. Significant differences in cyber-bullying were found by gender (in favor of males). A significant positive correlation was found between cyber-bullying on one hand and psychological security and loneliness and age on the other. The findings also revealed that cyber-bullying among university students can be predicted by psychological loneliness and age. Psychological loneliness is the best predictor of cyber-bullying. It explained .284 of cyber-bullying, while age, psychological loneliness explained .339 of cyber-bullying. These findings shed more light on the psychological aspects included in cyber-bullying. It is a significant contribution in that it identified the motives beyond cyber-bullying and its adverse effects on individuals.

National, Sex and Academic Discipline Difference in Smartphone Addiction: A Study of Students in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Sudan.

There are an increasing number of studies on smartphone addiction (SA) among students, and also a number of cross-cultural ones. We add to this body of research by presenting, for the first time, a cross-cultural study comparing students in four Middle Eastern countries: Sudan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. In this context, we also attempt to replicate findings-in other studies-that there are differences in smartphone addiction prevalence along the lines of sex, culture and subject of study. These findings were indeed replicated in a Middle Eastern context. We found significant differences between the Jordanian sample and the other three samples, with Jordanians displaying higher SA. The Sudanese displayed higher SA than the Yemenis, and the Saudis higher than the Sudanese or the Yemeni. We also found that females displayed greater SA than males and humanities students greater SA than science students.