Longitudinal association of peer victimization with aggression and self-injury in adolescence: The mediating role of belief in a just world

Abstract

ObjectiveThe concept of belief in a just world (BJW) refers to human beings' belief that the world is a stable, orderly and just. In recent years, the role of BJW plays in individuals' daily life has been studied since it's an significant part of individuals' mental health. Previous research has linked the BJW with peer victimization, aggression and self-injury. And this study examined whether BJW can mediate the relationship between peer victimization and aggression and self-injury. We tested our hypotheses that, 1) peer victimization would have positive associations with aggression and self-injury; 2) BJW would mediate the relationship between peer victimization and both aggression and self-injury. The results supported our hypotheses. Mediation modeling analysis showed that BJW had a significantly mediation effect in the longitudinal association of peer victimization with aggression and self-injury. Meanwhile, the changes in the prevalence rate of self-injury among Chinese adolescents who were participants in the current study at baseline (54.9%) and six-month follow-up (42.7%) also further proved the function of BJW. These findings are consistent with recent work and meanwhile indicate the mediation mechanism which can be majorly applied to psychological education.