Observational Study
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World J Psychiatry. May 19, 2025; 15(5): 104145
Published online May 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i5.104145
Longitudinal study of peer bullying victimization and its psychological effects on adolescents
Yu-Ping Bai, Hao Yuan, Qing-Yun Yu, Lu-Ming Liu, Wen-Chao Wang
Yu-Ping Bai, Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, Beijing 100036, China
Hao Yuan, Lu-Ming Liu, Wen-Chao Wang, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Qing-Yun Yu, Mental Health Education Counseling Center, Jingchu University of Technology, Jingmen 448000, Hubei Province, China
Author contributions: Bai YP contributed to conceptualization, writing original draft; Yuan H contributed to methodology, writing, review and editing; Yu QY contributed to writing, review and editing, investigation; Liu LM contributed to methodology, investigation; Wang WC contributed to project administration, supervision.
Supported by the Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of China Project, No. 22YJC190023.
Institutional review board statement: The Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychology at Beijing Normal University reviewed and approved the research (No. 202302220015).
Informed consent statement: Consent for participation was obtained from the local school bureau, the school principal, students, and their parents, all of whom provided signed informed consent forms.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—a checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-a checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wen-Chao Wang, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China. psychao@bnu.edu.cn
Received: December 12, 2024
Revised: January 24, 2025
Accepted: March 3, 2025
Published online: May 19, 2025
Processing time: 140 Days and 1.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Peer bullying victimization (PBV) is a significant public health issue that adolescents often face, with approximately one-third having experienced PBV. Understanding its interrelationships with mental health problems is crucial for effective intervention. This study aims to examine the longitudinal relationships between internalizing problems (depression and anxiety), externalizing problems (aggression), and PBV among middle school students using cross-lagged panel network analysis.

AIM

To examine the longitudinal relationships between internalizing problems (depression and anxiety), externalizing problems (aggression), and PBV among middle school students using cross-lagged panel network analysis.

METHODS

A total of 1260 middle school students (54.6% male) participated in this study. Data were collected at two time points (time 1 and time 2) using self-report questionnaires to assess PBV, depression, anxiety, and aggression. Cross-lagged panel network analysis was applied to examine the bi-directional relationships between these variables over time.

RESULTS

Depression, particularly a “sad mood,” was the most significant predictor of both PBV and aggression. Cyberbullying victimization also emerged as a key factor influencing depression and anxiety. While anxiety had weaker and less consistent effects on PBV, aggression was predominantly influenced by depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances. The analysis also identified key symptoms, such as a “sad mood” and sleep disturbances, as crucial targets for intervention to mitigate the cycle of PBV, depression, anxiety, and aggression.

CONCLUSION

This study provides important insights for bullying victimization prevention and intervention strategies: (1) Early identification and intervention targeting depression, particularly a “sad mood,” and sleep disturbances; (2) The importance of addressing cyberbullying as a distinct factor influencing mental health; and (3) The need for comprehensive, longitudinal approaches to understanding and intervening in the interconnected mental health issues among adolescents.

Keywords: Peer bullying victimization; Depression; Anxiety; Aggression; Adolescents; Longitudinal study

Core Tip: In the bi-directional relationship between depression and peer bullying victimization (PBV) in adolescents, depression dominates, with sad mood playing a key role in the bi-directional relationship between depression/anxiety and aggression in adolescents, depression/anxiety dominates, with sleep/feeling afraid symptom playing a key role. In the bi-directional relationship between PBV and aggression in adolescents, PBV dominates, with physical bullying victimization playing a dominant role.