Abstract
This research aims to explore the relationship between bullying and depression in middle school students, and to investigate the role of loneliness and self-esteem. A cluster sampling method was used to sample 554 students from a middle school in China, and OBVQ, CES-D-10, UCLA-6, and SES were used to measure bullying, depression, loneliness, and self-esteem. The results found that bullying behavior can significantly positively predict students’ depression, and loneliness is an intermediary variable in this path; at the same time, when loneliness transforms into depression, it is regulated by the self-esteem level of students, and there is a moderated mediating effect.
Highlights
In recent years, there have been frequent news of school bullying, and attention to this social issue has continued to increase around the world
The proportion of victims in Italian primary and secondary schools is as high as 29%, and 13% of students are bully/victims, while bullies only account for 8% (Genta, Menesini, Fonzi, Costabile, & Smith, 1996); a domestic survey of more than 100,000 students across the country found that the victimization situation of our country’s primary and middle school students is more serious than the bullying situation. (Hongchang & Jianlong, 2018)
The bullied person is prone to sleep disturbances, difficulty falling asleep and other sleep disorders (Fangfang et al, 2021), and they show an increase in cognitive rumination thinking (Blake, Trinder, & Allen, 2018; Xuliang, Ya, Yaoqian, Shuo, & Bing, 2020), decreased sense of security, so that individuals are more prone to internalizing problems, depression, anxiety (Kowalski, Giumetti, Schroeder, & Lattanner, 2014; Moore et al, 2017), social adjustment difficulties, and increased the risk of suicidal behavior problems (Shiying & Huibing, 2021; Xiaoqun, Dali, Lihua, & Linyan, 2013); in addition, after bullying leads to depression, it will damage the working memory function of young people and seriously affect their academic performance (Shuai, Jinqin, Zhiyan, Liping, & Mingxuan, 2021; Vaillancourt et al, 2011)
Summary
There have been frequent news of school bullying, and attention to this social issue has continued to increase around the world. It is a core component of self-concept and has an important impact on the growth and development of an individual (Garofalo, Holden, Zeigler-Hill, & Velotti, 2016).The Anxiety-buffer hypothesis states that self-esteem can act as a barrier against loneliness, thereby hindering symptoms of anxiety and depression (Rossi et al, 2020).Studies have shown that with a good social support system, individuals with high levels of self-esteem tend to have less loneliness, thereby inhibiting the generation of negative emotions such as depression (Chao, Shuyang, Xin, & Jinping, 2018); adolescents with low self-esteem have a strong sense of self-criticism When they are subjected to bullying, they experience strong anxiety, increase their sense of loneliness, and are more prone to depression, anxiety and other problems (Jiaqi et al, 2020).
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