Impact of Sadism on Cyberstalking among Youth Involved in Cyberstalking

Abstract

Sadism is one of the latest additions to the dark tetrad. Sadism has been identified as one of the causes of problematic behaviors across the lifespan. With the rise of online activities and communications, cyberstalking has become the center of attention for researchers across different domains. The current study aimed to find the impact of sadism on cyberstalking. The data were collected from a purposively selected 300 self-identified cyberstalking youth. The age range of the participants was 18-24 years. The participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire honestly. The results revealed a positive correlation between sadism and cyberstalking. Sadism explained a 43.1% variation in cyberstalking. The results also revealed a negative correlation between age and sadism, whereas a non-significant correlation was observed between age and cyberstalking. The results of the study revealed significant gender-based differences in cyberstalking. Males reported higher levels of cyberstalking.