Parental mediation, cyber victimization, adjustment difficulties, and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Parental mediation of technology use is proposed to protect against the risk of cyber victimization and the associated negative consequences. Although the buffering effects of parental mediation of technology use are currently being investigated, little attention has focused on whether parental mediation protects against the depression, anxiety, and loneliness associated with cyber victimization among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. The present study focused on this gap in the literature by investigating the buffering effect of parental mediation on the associations between cyber victimization and depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Participants were 128 6 th through 8 th graders from the Midwestern United States (ages range from 11-16 years old; 89% male), and they completed questionnaires on their perceptions of parental mediation of technology use, cyber victimization, face-to-face victimization, depression, loneliness, and anxiety. After controlling for face-to-face victimization, the findings revealed that high levels of perceived parental technology mediation made the relationship between cyber victimization and depression more negative, while lower levels of perceived parental technology mediation made the association more positive. These patterns were not found for anxiety or loneliness.