The Effect of Left-Behind Status on Bullying Victimization and Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Adversity.

BackgroundThere is substantial evidence linking bullying victimization to suicidal ideation, but the mechanism behind this link is not well understood. This study investigates whether depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation, and whether perceived family economic strain moderates this mediation.MethodsData were collected from 7,702 adolescents (mean age = 14.74 ± 1.69 years, 52% girls) using a self-report questionnaire that assessed bullying victimization, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and perceived family economic strain. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro in SPSS.ResultsSuicidal ideation was significantly associated with both bullying victimization and depressive symptoms, as determined by linear regression analysis (both p < 0.001). The relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation was partially mediated by depressive symptoms, accounting for 66.74% of the effect. Additionally, perceived family economic strain could moderate the link between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms (β=-0.017, p < 0.001), indicating that increased perceived family economic strain attenuates the impact of bullying victimization on depressive symptoms.ConclusionOur research affirms bullying victimization substantial influence on adolescent suicidal ideation, with depressive symptoms mediating this link. The study also reveals that perceived family economic strain moderates this relationship, indicating the necessity for interventions that address both psychological and economic factors to holistically support the mental health of bullied adolescents.

Antecedents of sibling aggression and bullying victimization: The parallel and serial contributions of depressive symptoms and substance use

Association between bullying victimization, coping style, and mental health problems among Chinese adolescents

Studies have demonstrated that bullying victimization is a risk factor for depressive symptoms; however, little is known about the underlying processes that may mediate or moderate this relationship. To address this research gap, this study examined the mediating effects of personal and general belief in a just world (BJW) and the moderating effect of classroom-level victimization on the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Using a short-term longitudinal design, two-wave data were obtained from 2,551 Chinese adolescents (initial age = 12.99 ± 0.61, 52.2% boys) from 47 classes over 6months. The results indicated that Time 1 personal BJW mediated the relationship between Time 1 bullying victimization and Time 2 depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the mediating effect of Time 1 personal BJW was moderated by Time 1 classroom-level victimization; this effect was stronger for adolescents in classrooms with low levels of victimization. These findings contribute to our understanding of how and when bullying victimization impacts youth depressive symptoms. Education practitioners should pay special attention to personal BJW in victimized adolescents, especially when classroom-level victimization is low.

Being bullied has been recognized as a risk factor for depression in youth. However, our knowledge about the mechanisms by which bullying victimization is linked with depression remains limited. The present study examined whether rumination, a negative thought process, would mediate or moderate this link. We further simultaneously investigated two types of bullying victimization as the predictors of depression, namely traditional bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization. A convenience sample of 512 Chinese early adolescents (43.4% girls; Mage = 12.67) participated in this survey. They completed a paper-pencil questionnaire measuring their traditional bullying victimization, cyberbullying victimization, rumination, and depressive symptoms. Bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals were used to test for the mediation effects. Results indicated that rumination mediated and moderated the relationships between traditional bullying/cyberbullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Both types of bullying victimization were positively associated with rumination, which in turn was positively associated with depressive symptoms. In addition, the positive relations between two types of bullying victimization and depressive symptoms were significant only among adolescents with high levels of rumination. The present findings extend our knowledge of how rumination functions in the stressor-depression relationship. The preventive and therapeutic efforts on depression in adolescents should directly focus on decreasing their engagement in rumination.

Bullying victimization is associated with an increased risk of depression among adolescents. However, few studies have examined the association between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms, the impact of particular dimensions of life satisfaction on this relationship, and whether these associations vary by gender. A multilevel model (MLM) was used to explore the relationship between 1,611 Chinese early adolescents' incidence of bullying victimization and depression and life satisfaction's effect on this relationship (60.5% boys, M age = 12.48, SD = 0.48 at baseline). Bullying victimization was found to predict a high risk of depression in early adolescence. Further, we observed that life satisfaction mitigated the relationship between bullying victimization and depression; the MLM analysis indicated that these associations somewhat differed between genders. This study emphasized-based on ecological theory-four special dimensions of life satisfaction and bullying victimization in relation to depression risk. Additionally, this study provides novel insights into the correlation between bullying victimization and depression among Chinese early adolescents.

Left-behind children (LBC) refer to those who have been separated from at least one parent for six months or more due to parental migration for work. This phenomenon poses a significant threat to the mental health of over 61 million LBC in China. This study aims to compare the prevalence of mental health symptoms between LBC and non-left-behind children (non-LBC) and to explore the predictive effect of bullying victimization on adolescent mental health problems. In 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis involving 28,036 children and adolescents in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, China, with ages ranging from 8 to 19 years. Mental health symptoms were assessed using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The Delaware Bullying Victimization Scale-Student (DBVS-S) was employed to gather data on experiences of bullying victimization. Information on self-injury was collected by inquiring whether participants had engaged in self-injurious behavior and the reasons for such behavior. Multivariable logistic regression was utilized to analyze the risk and protective factors associated with mental health symptoms, with a particular focus on different types of bullying victimization. Compared to non-left-behind children (non-LBC), left-behind children (LBC) exhibited a higher prevalence of mental health issues: anxiety symptoms (24.0% vs. 18.0%, p<0.001), depressive symptoms (27.9% vs. 19.4%, p<0.001), and self-injurious behavior (17.7% vs. 12.2%, p<0.001). Among LBC, physical bullying was identified as the most significant predictor of anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.62). Additionally, LBC who experienced verbal bullying had a higher risk of depressive symptoms (OR = 2.23) and self-injurious behaviors (OR = 1.54). Enhanced family functioning, positive teacher-student relationships, and strong peer relationships were found to offer protective effects against mental health problems. Our results suggested that LBC experienced a higher incidence of mental health symptoms, particularly among those who had been victims of bullying. This underscores the urgent need for supportive strategies focused on the school environment and interpersonal relationships to mitigate negative mental health outcomes for LBC.

Introduction: Bullying can cause various symptoms in psychological, physical and emotional. Bullying behavior can cause depression, anxiety and low self-esteem on victims of bullying. Interventions to overcome depression in adolescents victims of bullying consist of individual interventions and group interventions. This study aims to explain the interventions or program that can be done to overcome depression in adolescents victims of bullying. Method: Searching articles used Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) with keywords of Intervention OR Program AND Depression OR Depressive Symptoms AND Bullying OR Cyberbullying AND Adolescents OR Teenagers OR Young Adult OR Junevile. This research used academic databases including: Scopus, CINAHL, ScienceDirect with inclusion criteria include: adolescents aged 12-21 who are victims of bullying, articles published in 2011-2021 using experimental studies and in English and using The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal method. Results: A total of 10 articles were analyzed in this research. Findings articles were divided into two sections, namely individual interventions (n=2) and group interventions (n=8). Conclusions: This research showed that several interventions or programs that have been studied effectively can overcome depression or depressive symptoms in adolescents who have been victims of bullying. It is expected to educate adolescents on how to cope with depression or depressive symptoms of adolescents victims of bullying. Keywords: Intervention, Depression, Bullying, Adolescents

BackgroundBullying is a rising social concern and public health challenge, threatening the mental health of the youth. Existing evidence lacks comprehensive insight into the gender disparities in such association. This cross-sectional study aimed to elucidate the gender differences in the association between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms among children and adolescents.MethodsA total of 21,654 fourth-grade and above students were recruited from the annual school-based survey “China Common Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance among Students” in Zhejiang Province, China, conducted in 2021. Six forms of bullying victimization were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire and further categorized into three subtypes, including physical, verbal, and relational bullying victimization. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. A multilevel generalized linear model was employed to analyze the gender-specific association of bullying victimization (in specific forms, subtypes, and cumulative measures) with depressive symptoms. Gender differences were tested by the girls-to-boys ratios of odds ratios (RORs) and the 95% confidential intervals (CIs).ResultsThe median age of recruited children and adolescents was 15.07 years. All specific forms of bullying victimization were significantly associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms. Girls who were mocked or teased (ROR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.05–1.56), body-shamed (ROR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.05–1.85) and experienced the subtype of verbal bullying (ROR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.01–1.46) exhibited greater depressive symptoms than boys. Concerning cumulative effects, girls who experienced two or more forms of bullying victimization (ROR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.09–1.84), all three subtypes of bullying victimization (ROR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.10–3.24) had more prominently increased odds of depressive symptoms than boys.ConclusionsBullied girls exhibited a higher susceptibility to depressive symptoms than boys with the same experience, especially when exposed to multiple bullying incidents. These findings underscore the need for developing gender-specific strategies to protect children from bullying, with an emphasis on safeguarding girls.

Bullying victimization and mental health of Chinese adolescents: The chain of tragedy effect of belief in a just world and health promoting lifestyle

Both traditional school bullying and cyber bullying among adolescents have become international concerns across many countries including China. The role of depressive symptoms in the relationship between various forms of bullying victimization and suicidal ideation has not been adequately studied in the Chinese context. This study aims to explore this issue using self-report data collected from 1,814 high school students in a city in southern China. The results of the structural equation modeling analyses showed that, after controlling for a set of bullying-related variables and demographic information, depressive symptoms played a mediating role in the relationship between certain forms of bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. The effects also differed by gender. Specifically, depressive symptoms mediated the relationship between verbal victimization and suicidal ideation for boys and girls alike. However, depressive symptoms mediated the effects of relational and cyber bullying victimization on suicidal ideation among girls only. In addition, both the effects of cyber bullying victimization and depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation were stronger for girls than boys. Policy implications were then discussed in the Discussion and Conclusion section.

Bullying victimization and depression among left-behind children in rural China: Roles of self-compassion and hope

This study examined how depressive symptoms play mediating roles between cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation and the moderating roles of cognitive reappraisal and emotion invalidation. A total of 1,823 Chinese adolescents (Mean age = 11.20, SD = 1.21, 47.8% girls) participated this study. Results showed that cyberbullying victimization was more strongly related to suicidal ideation than traditional bullying victimization. Depressive symptoms played mediating roles between cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Cognitive reappraisal mitigated the effects of cyberbullying and traditional bullying victimization on depressive symptoms, and perceived emotion invalidation strengthened the effect of depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation. Results further showed that the mediating effect of depressive symptoms was more prominent when there were low levels of cognitive reappraisal and more perceived emotion invalidation. Promoting youths’ cognitive reappraisal and providing validating responses to their depressive symptoms could mitigate the destructive effects of bullying victimization on suicidal ideation.

The longitudinal relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms for middle school students: A cross-lagged panel network analysis

Bullying victimization is common among adolescents and increases the likelihood of depressive symptoms and suicidality. Two previous meta-analyses have shown that these relationships do not significantly vary by gender. This research investigated whether there are significant positive additive interactions between bullying victimization and female gender on depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide attempts that required treatment. For this research, analyses of pooled data from the 2011, 2013, and 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 44,632) were performed to estimate measures of additive interaction, as well as measures of multiplicative interaction in order to examine whether the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms or suicidality significantly varied by gender. Measures of additive interaction show that the magnitude of the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms or suicidality is significantly greater among female than male individuals. In contrast, measures of multiplicative interaction indicate that the magnitude of the relationship between bullying and depressive symptoms or suicidality is not significantly greater among female than male individuals. Measures of additive interaction are relevant for nursing and population health research. Future research should further explore how and why bullying victimization appears to more profoundly affect female individuals more than male individuals and how to mitigate it.