The impact of cyberbullying on users' continuance intention: The roles of perceived cyberbullying severity and coping mechanisms

Cyberbullying is a term that encompasses aggressive behaviours performed through different information and communication technologies (ICT), with the intention to harm or cause discomfort on others. Cyberbullying has gained prominence with the media and government institutions, due to reported cases of suicides linked to cyberbullying (in countries like Canada, US, and UK). Researchers in different areas have studied the prevalence and outcomes of cyberbullying (e.g., truancy) and strategies used by victims to deal with cyberbullying (e.g., email address change). However, there is a lack of a comprehensive view of the victims' perceptions of cyberbullying and its consequences for victims' lives. Moreover, information systems (IS) researchers have not investigated how cyberbullying may affect user's perceptions and experience with ICT. This study combines the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping with the Expectation-Confirmation Model of IS Continuance to propose a research model that will aid in understanding the negative impacts of cyberbullying for both victim's lives and their experiences with ICT. The role of coping mechanisms on various elements of the proposed model is also examined. A survey-based study is proposed to empirically validate the proposed theoretical model, using structural equation modelling techniques.