Xiaokang Lin, Xiwen Yuan, Yunlong Tian
As everyday social interaction increasingly unfolds online, individuals who feel relatively deprived may turn to these platforms for connection yet become more exposed to cyber-ostracism. However, the socioemotional mechanisms and individual resources that bound this association remain insufficiently understood. To address this gap, the present study tested a moderated dual mediation model to investigate the mediating roles of positive and negative social emotions in the relationship between relative deprivation and cyber-ostracism, as well as the moderating effect of self-esteem. A total of 1,508 undergraduate students (43.3% female; M age = 19.43 years) completed validated measures of relative deprivation, social emotion, self-esteem, and cyber-ostracism. The parallel mediation model showed a positive association between relative deprivation and cyber-ostracism, with significant indirect effects through reduced positive social emotion [indirect effect = 0.03, 95% CI = (0.011, 0.039), 6.78% of total effect] and elevated negative social emotion [indirect effect = 0.04, 95% CI = (0.012, 0.069), 10.82% of total effect]. In the full moderated mediation model, self-esteem moderated the paths from relative deprivation to positive social emotion, negative social emotion, and cyber-ostracism; the moderated indirect effect via positive social emotion was significant, whereas the path from negative social emotion to cyber-ostracism was not significant in this model. These findings advance theoretical understanding of the emotional pathways underlying cyber-ostracism, underscore the protective function of self-esteem, and inform intervention strategies aimed at mitigating deprivation-related risks and fostering healthier online social interactions.