Bullying Victimization and Internalizing Problems among Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Peer Autonomy Support and Self-Esteem

The present study employed the social-ecological diathesis-stress model as a theoretical framework to extend previous research by examining the underlying mechanism and conditional process that contribute to the positive association between bullying victimization and internalizing problems among adolescents. A moderated mediation model involving peer autonomy support and self-esteem was tested using a sample of 1723 adolescents (50.7% girls; M age = 12.79, SD = 1.58), who completed questionnaires assessing internalizing problems, bullying victimization, peer autonomy support, and self-esteem. The findings revealed that self-esteem partially mediated the positive association between bullying victimization and adolescents' internalizing problems. Specifically, bullying victimization was inversely related to self-esteem, which, in turn, was negatively associated with internalizing problems. Further moderation analyses demonstrated that these direct and indirect associations varied based on levels of peer autonomy support. Simple slope analyses specifically indicated that (a) peer autonomy support buffered against the negative association of bullying victimization with self-esteem and internalizing problems, and (b) peer autonomy support mitigated the negative association of self-esteem with internalizing problems. The elucidation of this mechanism and conditional process holds important implications for early interventions and prevention efforts aimed at mitigating the detrimental association of bullying victimization with adolescents' healthy emotional functions.

The effect of mobbing on the development of depression in anesthesia workers: A prospective, multicenter, observational study

BACKGROUND

Mobbing in the workplace is a critical problem affecting healthcare workers' psychological health and performance. However, there is a lack of data on the relationship between mobbing and depression and a lack of regulations to create a decent working environment.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to determine the frequency of exposure to mobbing and the depression levels that may be related to mobbing among the employees of the Anesthesiology and Reanimation Clinic.

METHODS

In this multi-center cross-sectional study, employees were evaluated with Leymann's Inventory of Psychological Terror scale and the Beck Depression Inventory.

RESULTS

Of the participants, 86.2% stated that they were exposed to mobbing. The presence of mobbing was also associated with the presence of psychological and depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSION

The frequency of mobbing was relatively high among Anesthesiology and Reanimation clinic employees. Mobbing exposure was found to be associated with a high level of depression. Institutional and legal precautions should be taken, and awareness of mobbing should be increased to eliminate mobbing and its consequences on healthcare workers.

Influences of prepandemic bullying victimization and COVID-19 peer discrimination on Chinese American adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Guided by the social-ecological diathesis-stress model, we examined the interactive influences of prepandemic bullying victimization and COVID-19 peer discrimination on Chinese American adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 193 Chinese American adolescents from middle and high schools in the United States. Results of regression analyses suggested that Chinese American adolescents' prepandemic bullying victimization in both traditional and cyber forms, but not COVID-19 peer discrimination, was significantly and positively associated with both their internalizing and externalizing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, after their sex, grade level, age, and immigration status were controlled. Moreover, Chinese American adolescents' prepandemic bullying victimization in cyber form (but not in traditional form), mitigated the risk influence of COVID-19 peer discrimination on their internalizing problems (but not externalizing problems), during the pandemic. The findings indicate the salient and lasting influence of prepandemic bullying victimization on Chinese American adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the importance of continued support for vulnerable students who suffered from prepandemic bullying victimization during the school reopening and postpandemic recovery. It also highlights the importance of developing a resilience-focused approach to creating conditions and opportunities to foster posttraumatic growth among youth with bullying and racial trauma experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Online and school bullying roles: are bully-victims more vulnerable in nonsuicidal self-injury and in psychological symptoms than bullies and victims?

BACKGROUND

Bullying leads to adverse mental health outcomes and it has also been linked to nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in community adolescents. It is not clear whether different roles of bullying (bully, victim, bully-victim) are associated with NSSI, furthermore the same associations in cyberbullying are even less investigated.

METHODS

The aim of the current study was to test whether students involved in school or online bullying differed from their not involved peers and from each other in psychological symptoms (externalizing and internalizing problems) and in NSSI severity (number of episodes, number of methods). Furthermore, mediation models were tested to explore the possible role of externalizing and internalizing problems in the association of school and online bullying roles with NSSI. In our study, 1011 high school students (66.07% girls; n = 668), aged between 14 and 20 years (Mage = 16.81; SD = 1.41) participated.

RESULTS

Lifetime prevalence of at least one episode of NSSI was 41.05% (n = 415). Students involved in bullying used more methods of NSSI than not involved adolescents. In general, victim status was associated mostly with internalizing symptoms, while bully role was more strongly associated with externalizing problems. Bully-victims status was associated with both types of psychological problems, but this group did not show a significantly elevated NSSI severity compared to other bullying roles. Externalizing and internalizing problems mediated the relationship between bullying roles and NSSI with different paths at different roles, especially in case of current NSSI that happened in the previous month.

CONCLUSIONS

Results highlight that students involved in bullying are more vulnerable to NSSI and to psychological symptoms compared to their peers who are not involved in bullying. It is suggested that bullying roles, especially bully-victim status, need to be identified in school and online settings and thus special attention should be addressed to them to reduce psychological symptoms and NSSI, for example by enhancing adaptive coping skills.

Workplace Bullying in Italy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Within any work environment, employees may be affected by "workplace bullying", a form of violent and repeated social behavior towards subordinates and colleagues. This review aimed to investigate the prevalence of bullied workers in Italy, the causes of the phenomenon, and the consequences at physical, psychological, and organizational levels.

METHODS

We included observational studies and systematic reviews examining the prevalence of bullied workers and the causes and consequences in Italian workplaces. Data extraction and analysis were performed on all included studies. The research strategy included three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). A comprehensive search was done to retrieve articles based on a PRISMA-compliant protocol registered in PROSPERO: CRD 42023394635.

RESULTS

One hundred eighty-four articles were retrieved, and once duplicates and irrelevant articles were removed, 42 useful articles were reviewed. The mean pooled prevalence, calculated based on workers complaining of mistreatment, was 6.7% (SD: 4,09) and increased significantly to 17.0% (SD: 12.88) when considering only healthcare workplaces. Causes include how impaired mental health and high workload reinforce the possibility of being bullied in the workplace, resulting in a worsening of the worker's quality of life (physical and psychological) and the work organization with increased absenteeism and job changes.

CONCLUSIONS

Workplace bullying is a very present phenomenon within workplaces in Italy. In light of this, it is necessary to put prevention plans in place and find solutions to maintain optimal organizational well-being in the work environment.

Impact of Dental Features and Treatment of Dental Problems on a Group of Adolescents' Experience of Being Bullied. A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Bullying is a common behaviour among adolescents, with psychological and health impacts on both victims and bullies. Recently, bullying due to dental features has received serious attention due to its short- and long-term effects on the health and well-being of children and adolescents. However, there is a scarcity of studies that investigate the impact of treating dental problems on the cessation of bullying. This study aims to identify the impact of dental features and treatment of dental problems on the experience of being bullied.

METHODS

A self-administered, modified version of a validated Arabic questionnaire was distributed to 300 dental patients with an age range of 10-18 years old. The variables studied were demographics, bullying due to dental features, the impact of dental treatment on the experience of being bullied, and the need for a program to stop bullying.

CONCLUSION

Bullying due to dental features is common among adolescents. Treatment of dental problems significantly lessens the act of bullying. Implementing anti-bullying programs that include paedodontists and orthodontists as stakeholders is important.

School bullying and self-efficacy in adolescence: A meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Given that literature has examined the relation between school bullying and self-efficacy, findings have been mixed. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify whether school bullying is associated with adolescents' self-efficacy, a key component of social information processing essential for the evaluation of potential behavioral responses. We further examined moderators associated with heterogeneity in the above relation, including participant roles, types of school bullying, types of self-efficacy, and demographic factors (e.g., age, gender, and cultural background).

METHOD

This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Statement for searching, identifying, and screening eligible articles. A total of 53 articles (N = 71,661; Mage  = 12.69 years) were included (50 in English and 3 in Chinese). Articles were coded by two graduate-level coders independently with a high inter-rater reliability (97.12%).

RESULTS

The results showed that (1) school bullying was negatively associated with self-efficacy (r = -.07, p < .001) among adolescents, and (2) the above relation varied by participant role (e.g., bullies, victims, bully-victims, and defenders), types of school bullying (e.g., traditional bullying, cyberbullying, and both), and types of self-efficacy (e.g., general and domain-specific self-efficacy).

FINDINGS

The findings highlight that school bullying is associated with disruptive cognitive processing in adolescence, low self-efficacy in particular, and the heterogeneity should be considered to fully understand the association between school bullying and self-efficacy among adolescents.

The dimensionality of perceptual anomalies and their relationships with bullying victimization among Chinese adolescents: From a network perspective

Anomalous perceptual experiences in adolescents are common and may predict future psychotic disorders and other psychopathologies. However, the underlying structure and their specific relationships with bullying victimizations, a typical stressor for adolescents, remain unclear. Therefore, the current study aimed to clarify the structure of perceptual anomalies as assessed by the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale (CAPS) using exploratory graph analysis (EGA), a new factor retention method based on network psychometrics. The second aim was to explore whether specific dimensions of perceptual anomalies are particularly associated with certain forms of bullying victimization. Data from a validated sample of 1199 Chinese adolescents (56.0 % females, age range: 14-20) on perceptual anomalies and bullying victimizations were analyzed using network approaches, including EGA and mixed graphical modeling (mgm). Results showed that each anomalous perception was experienced by 13.8-50.3 % of the participants. EGA identified four dimensions: aberrant bodily perceptions, altered daily experiences, chemosensation (i.e., abnormal gustatory and olfactory experiences), and clinical psychosis (i.e., visual and auditory hallucinatory experiences). Among them, the altered daily experiences dimension possessed the highest centrality. Physical bullying and cyberbullying were directly and positively linked to two of the aberrant bodily experiences. Bootstrap analyses suggest that the results are reliable. The current findings support the existence of multiple contributive factors to perceptual anomalies and underscore the importance of bullying prevention in reducing mental health risks for adolescents, particularly the risk of psychosis.

The association between self-reported psychosomatic complaints and bullying victimisation and disability among adolescents in Finland and Sweden

AIM

To analyse the associations between bullying victimisation, disability, and self-reported psychosomatic complaints in adolescents, and to investigate the role of support from parents and teachers in such associations.

METHODS

The study was based on Finnish and Swedish data from two waves (2013/2014 and 2017/2018) of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey (n=16,057). Descriptive statistics were produced for four groups of adolescents: (a) bullied with disabilities; (b) not bullied with disabilities; (c) bullied without disabilities; and (d) not bullied without disabilities (reference group). Two multilevel multinomial logistic regression models were performed for the Finnish and Swedish samples separately. The first model analysed associations between psychosomatic complaints and bullying victimisation, controlling for a range of confounders. The second model analysed associations between psychosomatic complaints and social support from parents and teachers.

RESULTS

Across both countries, bullied adolescents with disabilities were more likely to self-report psychosomatic complaints than the reference group, even after adjusting for other potential confounders. Teacher support was identified as a potential protective factor as the odds ratio for psychosomatic complaints decreased when including teacher support as a factor in the model. The association with parent support showed mixed findings in Finland and Sweden.

CONCLUSIONS

Disability in combination with bullying victimisation generated the highest levels of self-reported psychosomatic complaints compared to adolescents that were not bullied nor had disabilities. High teacher support may be a protective factor against psychosomatic complaints for bullied and/or disabled adolescents.

Family economic status and vulnerability to suicidal ideation among adolescents: A re-examination of recent findings

BACKGROUND

According to the "differential vulnerability hypothesis," individuals in adverse socioeconomic circumstances as less mentally resilient to stressful events. However, several recent papers radically challenged this hypothesis based on the accumulated literature on stress inoculation and presented cases in which lower-SES adolescents appear to be less vulnerable to suicidal ideation in the face of interpersonal aggression.

OBJECTIVE

We re-examine the link between psychological vulnerability to acute stressors and SES using yearly longitudinal public survey data from South Korea.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

This is a secondary data analysis of a multi-year public health panel dataset on South Korean adolescents.

METHODS

Logistic regression is used to examine the association between suicidal ideation and a range of predictor variables, with a particular focus on the interaction between bullying victimhood and log family income. These variables and the sample were chosen for consistency with recent revisionist research.

RESULTS

We reaffirm the well-established finding that bullying victimhood strongly and consistently increases the odds of suicidal ideation (OR = 1.859, p < 0.01). However, we find no evidence in favor of the traditional "differential vulnerability hypothesis" or the recently proposed counterhypothesis. A subsample analysis from the latest wave (W4-W5) did produce results that are consistent with recent revisionist findings, but we suggest this is likely a false positive.

CONCLUSIONS

There appears to be no systematic association between SES and vulnerability to suicidal ideation in the face of peer aggression among South Korean adolescents. The claim that lower-SES adolescents may be more resilient to stressful events stands on limited empirical support.

Longitudinal relationship between child maltreatment, bullying victimization, depression, and nonsuicidal self-injury among left-behind children in China: 2-year follow-up

BACKGROUND

Left-behind childre (LBC) in China are deeply concerned by society because of their high risk of emotional and behavioral problems. Depression and nonsuicidal self-injury are the most harmful and worrying negative emotional and behavioral problems in LBC. Unfortunately, LBCs are in unfavorable environments for a long time and are prone to negative interpersonal interactions. Child maltreatment and bullying victimization, as the two most typical negative interpersonal interactions in family and school environments, maybe the key risk factors for depression and nonsuicidal self-injury among LBCs. However, we are less known of the longitudinal effects of child maltreatment and bullying victimization on LBC's depression and nonsuicidal self-injury and their underlying mechanisms.

AIMS

This study used a two-year longitudinal design with three-time points to investigate the longitudinal effects of child maltreatment and bullying victimization on depression, nonsuicidal self-injury, and the mediating role of negative thoughts and self-compassion.

MATERIALS & METHODS

A sample of 592 LBC (390 were males, Mage at time 1 = 9.56, SDage = 0.65; 202 were females, Mage at time 1 = 9.43, SDage = 0.63) completed a set of questionnaires at three-time points. This study used SPSS software (version 25.0) and MPLUS software (version 8.3) for all analyses.

RESULTS

(1) Child maltreatment not only affects depression and nonsuicidal self-injury but also affects depression and nonsuicidal self-injury through negative thoughts. Child maltreatment affects depression through self-compassion and does not affect nonsuicidal self-injury. (2) Bullying victimization affects depression and nonsuicidal self-injury through negative thoughts and bullying victimization further affects depression through self-compassion but does not affect nonsuicidal self-injury.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the effects of negative interpersonal interactions (child maltreatment, bullying victimization) on LBC's adverse emotions and behaviors, and their underlying mechanisms, which helps to provide parents, schools, and psychoeducational workers with a new perspective on intervention.

Agreeableness and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration: A longitudinal moderated mediation model of moral disengagement and empathy

OBJECTIVE

The current study explored whether agreeableness predicted cyberbullying perpetration across 3 years and extended previous studies by exploring the mediating effect of moral disengagement and the moderating effects of empathy and gender.

METHOD

The participants included 2407 adolescents from 7 middle schools in China. They were recruited to complete the Big Five Personality Inventory, Bullying Scale and Empathy Scale at Time 1, Moral Disengagement Scale at Time 1 and Time 2, and Cyberbullying Perpetration Scale at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3.

RESULTS

Agreeableness at Time 1 predicted cyberbullying perpetration at Time 3 and moral disengagement at Time 2 mediated this relationship. The relationship between moral disengagement at Time 2 and cyberbullying perpetration at Time 3 was stronger for low cognitive empathy adolescents than high cognitive empathy adolescents at Time 1. The relationship between agreeableness at Time 1 and cyberbullying perpetration adolescents at Time 3 was stronger for low affective empathy than high affective empathy adolescents at Time 1. The link between moral disengagement at Time 2 and cyberbullying perpetration at Time 3 was weaker for females than males.

CONCLUSIONS

Low agreeableness adolescents are more likely to use moral disengagement, which in turn leads to more cyberbullying perpetration.

Peer victimization and Internet addiction among adolescents: The role of anger rumination and social dominance orientation

INTRODUCTION

Internet addiction has garnered growing attention in recent years, and peer victimization plays a major contributor to adolescents' Internet addiction. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms in the association between peer victimization and Internet addiction. Guided by cognitive behavioral model and worldview verification model, this study examined a moderated mediation model in which anger rumination at Time 1 (T1) mediated the association between peer victimization at T1 and Internet addiction at Time 2 (T2), and this mediation effect was moderated by T1 social dominance orientation (SDO).

METHODS

A short-term longitudinal design was adopted, incorporating two measurement occasions (with approximately 6-month intervals). Participants were 2597 adolescents (51.5% male, Mage  = 13.9, SD = 0.60) from seven secondary schools in Zhengzhou City, China. All participants were invited to complete the self-reported questionnaires assessing peer victimization, anger rumination, SDO at T1 (December 2015) and Internet addiction at T2 (June 2016), respectively. A short-term longitudinal moderated mediation model was conducted to analyze the association between variables.

RESULTS

The results showed that T1 peer victimization was positively associated with T2 Internet addiction in which association was mediated by T1 anger rumination. T1 SDO moderated the associations between T1 peer victimization and T1 anger rumination and this effect was stronger with lower levels of SDO. In terms of gender differences, SDO moderated the associations between peer victimization and anger rumination only for boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Results highlight that anger rumination is a potential mechanism explaining how peer victimization is related to Internet addiction and that this relation may be moderated by SDO.

The relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression

Guided by Beck's cognitive model of depression, this study comprehensively explores the mechanisms linking harsh parenting, rumination, and victimization to the development of adolescent depression. A total of 5047 adolescents were assessed using the Harsh Parenting Scale, Rumination Scale, Olweus Bullying/Victimization Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory. The results indicated that harsh parenting positively influences adolescent depression. Moreover, rumination emerged as an important mediator between harsh parenting and adolescent depression, similar to victimization. Additionally, we found that both rumination and victimization act as chain mediators in the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression. These findings demonstrate that harsh parenting impacts adolescent depression mediated by rumination and victimization. By shedding light on these mechanisms, this study improves our comprehension of how harsh parenting influences adolescent depression and offers valuable insights for designing interventions to alleviate depression in this population.

Peer Victimization in Preadolescent Children With ADHD: A Controlled Follow-up Study

INTRODUCTION

The present study examines bullying and its psychological consequences in school age children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHOD

The sample consisted of 34 children with ADHD and 36 children without ADHD. Continuity of bullying and victimization and their relationship with psychological problems and quality of life (QoL) were examined at two time points (T1 and T2) with one-year interval.

RESULTS

Children with ADHD experienced significantly more bullying and victimization than controls at both times. There was a marginally significant positive relationship between victimization scores at T1 and internalizing problems at T2 for the total sample. For both groups separately, victimization scores at T2 was significantly related with QoL and internalizing problems at T2.

DISCUSSION

School-age children with ADHD are at risk for bullying and victimization and their short-term negative effects. Timely interventions should be used to overcome the possible negative effects of peer victimization.

The associations of parental attitudes and peer bullying with alexithymia in adolescents: A structural equality model

AIM

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between parental attitude and peer bullying and alexithymia in adolescents.

METHODS

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with adolescents aged 13-18 years within high schools in eastern Turkey. Cluster sampling method was applied, and the study was completed within four high schools determined by random selection method. Sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire form, Peer Bullying Scale Adolescent Form, and Twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were used to collect the data.

RESULTS

Among the adolescents, 52% were female, 60% had a medium income level, 25.3% were in the 11th grade, 83% were living with their parents, 7.4% had chronic illnesses, 9.2% had psychiatric illnesses, 25.3% had suicidal thoughts, 10.1% engaged in suicidal behavior, and 25.3% used TV, smartphones, or tablets for 3-4 h a day. Rejecting and indifferent parental attitudes were found to be a possible risk factor for alexithymia, bullying and victimization.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the connections between parental attitudes, peer bullying, and alexithymia in adolescents. By targeting positive parental attitudes and addressing peer interactions, nurses can effectively contribute to reducing the risk of alexithymia.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Through collaboration with parents, nurses can establish supportive environments that nurture emotional understanding. Remaining attentive to risk factors, such as chronic illnesses and mental health issues in adolescents, empowers nurses to offer timely support or referrals. Partnerships with educators further enhance emotional awareness and encourage positive peer relationships.

Cyberbullying among children and youth in Türkiye: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PROBLEM

It has been reported in various studies that identifying risk and protective factors and outcomes of cyberbullying perpetration (CP) and cyberbullying victimization (CV) is crucial for educational strategies to fight against cyberbullying. The main purpose of the present study is to conduct a meta-analysis and systematic review to identify which risk and protective factors are more strongly associated with CP/CV and possible consequences of CP/CV among children and youth in Türkiye.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Various databases, including PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), ProQuest, ERIC, SCOPUS, Turkish Psychiatry Index, DergiPark, and National Dissertation/Thesis Center of Türkiye were searched to identify relevant studies.

SAMPLE

Fifty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria included in the present study.

RESULTS

Results revealed that the strongest risk factor was traditional bullying for CP (r = 0.47, p < .001) and traditional victimization for CV (r = 0.43, p < .001). The strongest protective factor was social skill for CP (r = -0.45, p < .001) and empathy for CV (r = -0.25, p < .001). In addition, involvement in CP behaviors had the strongest effect on negative self-concept (r = 0.28, p < .001), while exposure to CV on anxiety (r = 0.35, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although this study has some limitations, the study's findings are important source of information for many professionals, such as pediatric nurses, school psychological counselors, psychologists, and policymakers to further educational strategies for children and young people in Türkiye.

IMPLICATIONS

The study findings would be useful for developing educational programs to strengthen protective factors and reduce risk factors to prevent cyberbullying perpetration behaviors.

A cross-lagged twin study of emotional symptoms, social isolation and peer victimisation from early adolescence to emerging adulthood

BACKGROUND

Emotional symptoms, such as anxiety and depressive symptoms, are common during adolescence, often persist over time, and can precede the emergence of severe anxiety and depressive disorders. Studies suggest that a vicious cycle of reciprocal influences between emotional symptoms and interpersonal difficulties may explain why some adolescents suffer from persisting emotional symptoms. However, the role of different types of interpersonal difficulties, such as social isolation and peer victimisation, in these reciprocal associations is still unclear. In addition, the lack of longitudinal twin studies conducted on emotional symptoms during adolescence means that the genetic and environmental contributions to these relationships during adolescence remain unknown.

METHODS

Participants (N = 15,869) from the Twins Early Development Study completed self-reports of emotional symptoms, social isolation and peer victimisation at 12, 16 and 21 years old. A phenotypic cross-lagged model examined reciprocal associations between variables over time, and a genetic extension of this model examined the aetiology of the relationships between variables at each timepoint.

RESULTS

First, emotional symptoms were reciprocally and independently associated with both social isolation and peer victimisation over time, indicating that different forms of interpersonal difficulties uniquely contributed to emotional symptoms during adolescence and vice versa. Second, early peer victimisation predicted later emotional symptoms via social isolation in mid-adolescence, indicating that social isolation may constitute an intermediate pathway through which peer victimisation predicts longer-term emotional symptoms. Finally, individual differences in emotional symptoms were mostly accounted for by non-shared environmental factors at each timepoint, and both gene-environment and individual-specific environmental mechanisms were involved in the relationships between emotional symptoms and interpersonal difficulties.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the necessity to intervene early in adolescence to prevent the escalation of emotional symptoms over time and to consider social isolation and peer victimisation as important risk factors for the long-term persistence of emotional symptoms.

Magnitude and Associated Factors of Suicidal Ideation and Attempts among High School Adolescents of Jimma Town, Ethiopia

Background

Studies show that suicidal ideation and attempt are major predictors of suicide. Flourishing technologies such cyber bullying, increased local and global events, like pandemics, wars, and effects of climate change exacerbate vulnerability of adolescents to mental health problems. Thus, timely epidemiological information is important for evidence-based practices. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and associated factors of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among school adolescents.

Methods

A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2022 on randomly selected 1144 school adolescents using multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Then, data were cleaned, entered into Epi-data V.3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Multivariable logistic regression was done to identify predictors of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt among adolescents. Adjusted odds ratio and confidence interval (CI) were respectively used to measure statistical associations and their statistical significance.

Results

The prevalence of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt were 22.5%, and 13.3%, respectively, while 12-month suicidal ideation and attempt were found to be 14.6% and 10%, respectively. Being female, disappointment in school results, family history of suicide attempt, current alcohol intake, anxiety, and chronic medical condition were significantly associated with both suicidal ideation and attempt while cyber bullying was significantly associated with suicidal ideation only.

Conclusions

Unsupportive home environment plus behavioral and medical conditions predispose school adolescents to suicidal ideation and attempt. The Ministry of Education and school administrations should facilitate favorable environment that enhance mental health awareness and protection of school adolescents. Building better parent-child relationship and parental discretion on the use of mobile phones can mitigate suicidal ideation and attempt.

Student Engagement as a Mediator Process Between Peer Victimization and Achievement at the Beginning of Middle School

BACKGROUND

Very few studies have properly identified how peer victimization is associated with lower achievement in middle or high school. In this context, this study examined how peer victimization at the beginning of middle school is linked with subsequent student achievement. Specifically, it assessed if the behavioral, affective, and cognitive dimensions of engagement in school play a mediation role in the relationship between peer victimization and student achievement.

METHODS

The sample of this study included 683 seventh graders attending 3 schools in Montreal, Canada. Students self-reported peer victimization at the beginning and end of grade 7. They also reported their levels of student engagement on the 3 dimensions (behavioral, affective, and cognitive) across 3 time points in seventh and eighth grades. Student achievement in language arts across these 2 years was also obtained through school records.

RESULTS

Peer victimization significantly predicted lower achievement over time (b = -.24, p ≤ .001). Peer victimization predicted lower achievement in grade 8 indirectly through affective student engagement (b = -.11, p < .05). Post hoc analyses showed that peer victimization still predicted lower achievement in grade 8 indirectly through a decrease in affective engagement (b = -.14, p < .05). However, when considered alone, a decrease in cognitive engagement also acted as a mediator (b = -.09, p < .05), suggesting a strong link with affective engagement.

CONCLUSION

Our findings expose the importance to promote student engagement in school and achievement for victimized youth.

Distinct physiological responses to social-evaluative stress in patients with major depressive disorder reporting a history of peer victimization

Peer victimization is a risk factor for the development of major depressive disorders, but little is known about the mechanisms. This study examined whether peer victimization alters physiological and affective responses to potentially threatening social stimuli. For this purpose, reactions to socially evaluative stimuli of depressive patients and healthy controls with varying histories of peer victimization were compared. In a social conditioning task, we studied heart rate responses to unconditioned socially negative and neutral evaluative video statements, followed by the heart rate reactions to conditioned stimuli, i.e. still images of the faces of the same actors. Diagnosis of depression and peer victimization were both associated with a more pronounced heart rate deceleration in response to unconditioned stimuli, irrespective of valence. The effect of peer victimization was stronger in depressive patients than in healthy controls. However, heart rate responses to the CSs were not related to depression or peer victimization. The results indicate a hypervigilant processing of social stimuli in depressive patients reporting histories of peer victimization. This distinct processing may be associated with inappropriate behavioral and emotional responses to social challenges, putting individuals at risk for depressive symptoms.

The cause of depression in adolescence: peer bullying

OBJECTIVE

Depression affects adolescents worldwide and often predicts more serious disease manifestations in later lifetimes. Peer victimization or bullying, another form of child abuse, increases symptoms of depression. In this paper, the relationship between peer bullying and depression in adolescence was investigated.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Each adolescent who was admitted to the adolescent unit completed forms referred to as the 'Depression Scale For Children' and the 'Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale'. Sociodemographic features and results of the scales' evaluation were studied. SPSS 16.0 program was used for statistical analysis. The p-value below 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

239 adolescents, 120 of whom were male, were investigated. A positive relationship was determined among total and sub-scale scores of peer victimization-determining scale and depression scale scores. A negative relationship was determined between height, weight, age of the child, and sub-scale score of threat/intimidation. Both the total score of the peer victimization-determining scale and sub-scale scores of ridicule, open attack, and relational attack pertaining to patients with depression proved to be significantly higher than in those without depression.

CONCLUSIONS

The awareness of educators and parents, notably adolescents, must be raised in regard to peer victimization, and activities for increasing the communicative skills of adolescents and for allowing them to be able to express their emotions should also be performed. Identifying and preventing peer victimization, one of the causes of depression, and launching the treatment process for this are the first steps to be taken in terms of a healthy adulthood.

Self-Perceived Bullying Victimization in Pre-Adolescent Schoolchildren With ADHD

BACKGROUND

Bullying is highly prevalent among children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study investigates self-perceived bullying victimization and related sociodemographic, psychopathological, cognitive, and academic characteristics in pre-adolescents with ADHD compared to controls.

METHOD

The participants were 424 pre-adolescents, 138 of whom had ADHD. Self-perceived bullying victimization was assessed with the Bullying and School Violence questionnaire. This study is part of a larger double-phase epidemiologic cross-sectional study.

RESULTS

A total of 35% of the ADHD pre-adolescents self-reported bullying victimization. ADHD-combined presentation showed the highest prevalence of co-occurring self-perceived bullying victimization. After the effects of socioeconomic level, gender, place of birth, intelligence quotient and autism had been controlled, we observed that presenting ADHD increased the likelihood of self-perceived bullying victimization almost 3-fold. Having ADHD and self-perceived bullying victimization were significantly associated with higher rates of the co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing psychological problems. Comorbidity with ASD was higher in ADHD + bullying cases. Pre-adolescents with ADHD had lower cognitive scores and worse academic outcomes regardless of whether they were being bullied or not.

CONCLUSIONS

In bullying prevention and intervention, special attention should be paid to ADHD as a vulnerability factor for self-perceived victimization, with negative consequences for emotional well-being and behavior.

Developmental Pathway from Childhood Abuse to Adolescent Peer Victimization: The Role of Rejection Sensitivity and Aggression

Despite the well-established relationship between early experiences of victimization and later re-victimization, little is known about the exact mechanism of this cycle of victimization. The present study examined whether the route from rejection sensitivity to aggression mediates the associations between different forms of childhood abuse and later peer victimization longitudinally. A total of 3525 adolescents (56.6% male; Mage = 13.21 ± 0.85) participated in this three-wave study, with a 6-month lag and a 9-month lag respectively. The results indicated that the association between childhood emotional abuse and peer victimization were independently mediated by aggression, and sequentially mediated by rejection sensitivity and aggression in both sexes. Sex differences existed regarding the association between childhood physical abuse and aggression, such that only in adolescent boys did physical abuse show significant effect on aggression, resulting in later peer victimization. In general, these findings suggest that maladaptive social-cognitive processes and behavioral patterns are crucial for understanding the mechanism of the vicious cycle of victimization, and sex differences must be considered when examining different types of childhood abuse.

Does having vulnerable friends help vulnerable youth? The co-evolution of friendships, victimization, and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents' social networks

This study examined whether having vulnerable friends helps or hurts victimized and depressed (i.e., vulnerable) adolescents and whether this depends on classroom supportive norms. Students (n = 1461, 46.7% girls, 93.4% Han nationality) were surveyed four times from seventh and eighth grade (Mage  = 13 years) in 2015 and 2016 in Central China. Longitudinal social network analyses indicated that having vulnerable friends can both hurt and help vulnerable adolescents. Depressed adolescents with depressed friends increased in victimization over time. Victimized adolescents with victimized friends increased in victimization but decreased in depressive symptoms. These processes were most likely in classrooms with high supportive norms. Having friends and a supportive classroom may hurt vulnerable adolescents' social position but help victims' emotional development.