Browsing by Author "Perera, H.K."

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Open Access
Association among Depression, Social Anxiety, and Aggression caused by Cyberbullying on Facebook among Sri Lankan Adults
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences (FHS) of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) Malabe, 2020-12-01) Gunathillake, N.A.; Perera, H.K.
Cyberbullying has become a growing social concern as electronic platforms provide perpetrators an alternative medium through which they can easily target their victims from any place, at any time. The present study aimed to investigate whether depression, social anxiety, and aggression were significantly related to cyberbullying perpetration on Facebook among Sri Lankan adults. A cross-sectional, non experimental study was conducted using 168 Sri Lankan Facebook users between the ages 21 and 60. Data were collected using an online survey. Cyberbullying perpetration on Facebook, depression, social anxiety, and aggression were assessed using the Prevalence of Facebook Bullying Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10), Interaction Anxiousness Scale, and Brief Aggression Questionnaire respectively. Results of the Spearman correlation analysis revealed that depression and aggression were significantly and positively correlated to cyberbullying perpetration, while there was no significant correlation between social anxiety and cyberbullying perpetration. The findings of the present study provide insight into the importance of addressing the psychological and behavioural issues of perpetrators using appropriate interventions in order to reduce the occurrence of cyberbullying. The study also emphasizes the importance of reporting the incidents of cyberbullying and taking necessary legal actions against the perpetrators.
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The Relationship between Individuals’ Social Networks and Satisfaction with Life: The Mediating Role of Loneliness
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences - SLIIT, 2021-03-26) Perera, P.L.; Perera, H.K.
Humans are social beings, pre-programmed to form connections even before birth. Every individual has a set of connections with a group of people, through whom the need to socially connect with others is satisfied. A failure to satisfy these needs can have detrimental effects on an individual. Commonly known phenomena such as social isolation can be perceived as feelings of loneliness in the absence of adequate social connections. Despite the understanding that loneliness is typically prevalent in the elderly population, recent surveys show that young adults are lonelier than any other age group despite having the highest amount of social connections. Yet a limited number of research has been conducted to date on loneliness among young adults. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether loneliness was influenced by social network characteristics, and, in turn, could predict satisfaction with life (SWL). Data was collected using a survey disseminated among young adults aged 19- 24. Using a sample of 194 participants, results revealed that the relationships between two out of four structural characteristics (average closeness and frequency of interaction) and SWL were significantly mediated by loneliness, while the other two (network size and network density) were not. The relationship between the functional network characteristic of perceived social support and SWL was also significantly mediated by loneliness. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the limitations and implications of these findings.