SELF-EFFICACY AND FAMILY DYNAMICS AS PREDICTORS OF CYBER BULLYING AMONG STUDENTS OF FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NASARAWA, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA.

This study examined the influence of self-efficacy and family dynamics on cyberbullying among students of Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Employing a descriptive survey design, data were collected from a sample of 334 students, with 298 valid responses comprising 213 (71.5%) males and 85 (28.5%) females. The age distribution included 17–22 years (45.6%), 23–30 years (36.6%), and 31 years and above (17.8%), while marital status showed 219 (73.5%) single and 79 (26.5%) married. Educational status indicated 185 (62.1%) HND students and 113 (37.9%) ND students, with family types including nuclear (70.8%), extended (23.2%), and single-parent (6.0%). Participants were drawn using simple random sampling from the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa. The instruments used included the Questionnaire of Systemic Family Dynamics (SSFD), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and Revised Cyberbullying Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ), all demonstrating acceptable reliability coefficients. Three hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis at a 0.05 level of significance. Results revealed that family dynamics subscale collectively predicted cyberbullying (R = .532, R² = .210, F(4, 294) = 15.930, p < .001), though individual subscales were not significant. Self-efficacy also significantly influenced cyberbullying (R = .369, R² = .136, F(3, 322) = 16.882, p < .001), with cohesion as the key predictor (β = .246, t = 2.742, p = .023). Jointly, self-efficacy and family dynamics accounted for 49% of the variance in cyberbullying (R = .332, R² = .490, F(2, 296) = 10.930, p < .001), but independently, neither was significant. Based on these findings, it is recommended that school management, in collaboration with psychologists, should provide accessible counseling services that address dysfunctional family dynamics, offering tools for conflict resolution and emotional support to prevent escalation into cyber aggression.