Longitudinal trajectories of anterior cingulate glutamate and subclinical psychotic experiences in early adolescence: the impact of bullying victimization.

Previous studies reported decreased glutamate levels in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in non-treatment-resistant schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis. However, ACC glutamatergic changes in subjects at high-risk for psychosis, and the effects of commonly experienced environmental emotional/social stressors on glutamatergic function in adolescents remain unclear. In this study, adolescents recruited from the general population underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of the pregenual ACC using a 3-Tesla scanner. We explored longitudinal data on the association of combined glutamate-glutamine (Glx) levels, measured by MRS, with subclinical psychotic experiences. Moreover, we investigated associations of bullying victimization, a risk factor for subclinical psychotic experiences, and help-seeking intentions, a coping strategy against stressors including bullying victimization, with Glx levels. Finally, path analyses were conducted to explore multivariate associations. For a contrast analysis, gamma-aminobutyric acid plus macromolecule (GABA+) levels were also analyzed. Negative associations were found between Glx levels and subclinical psychotic experiences at both Times 1 (n = 219, mean age 11.5 y) and 2 (n = 211, mean age 13.6 y), as well as for over-time changes (n = 157, mean interval 2.0 y). Moreover, effects of bullying victimization and bullying victimization × help-seeking intention interaction effects on Glx levels were found (n = 156). Specifically, bullying victimization decreased Glx levels, whereas help-seeking intention increased Glx levels only in bullied adolescents. Finally, associations among bullying victimization, help-seeking intention, Glx levels, and subclinical psychotic experiences were revealed. GABA+ analysis revealed no significant results. This is the first adolescent study to reveal longitudinal trajectories of the association between glutamatergic function and subclinical psychotic experiences and to elucidate the effect of commonly experienced environmental emotional/social stressors on glutamatergic function. Our findings may deepen the understanding of how environmental emotional/social stressors induce impaired glutamatergic neurotransmission that could be the underpinning of liability for psychotic experiences in early adolescence.

Prevalence and nature of workplace bullying and harassment and associations with mental health conditions in England: a cross-sectional probability sample survey.

BACKGROUND: Evidence on workplace bullying and harassment (WBH) in the UK has not used probability-sample surveys with robust mental health assessments. This study aimed to profile the prevalence and nature of WBH in England, identify inequalities in WBH exposure, and quantify adjusted associations with mental health. METHODS: Data were from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, a cross-sectional probability-sample survey of the household population in England, interviewed with verbal informed consent. Criteria for inclusion in the secondary analysis were being aged 16-70 years and in paid work in the past month (n=3838). Common mental disorders were assessed using the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised and mental wellbeing using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. Analyses were weighted. We examined associations between past-year WBH and current common mental disorders using multivariable regression modelling, adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors. Interaction terms tested for gender differences in associations. The study received ethics approval (ETH21220-299). FINDINGS: One in ten employees (10·6% (weighted), n=444/3838) reported past-year experience of WBH, with rates higher in women (12·2%, n=284/2189); those of mixed, multiple, and other ethnicity (21·0%, n=15/92); and people in debt (15·2%, n=50/281) or living in cold homes (14·6%, n=42/234). Most commonly identified perpetrators of WBH were line managers (53·6%, n=244/444) or colleagues (42·8%, n=194/444). Excessive criticism (49·3%, n=212/444), verbal abuse (42·6%, n=187/444), and humiliation (31·4%, n=142/444) were the most common types. WBH was associated with all adverse mental health indicators, including common mental disorders (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2·65, 95% CI 2·02-3·49), and 11 of 14 mental wellbeing indicators, including lower levels of confidence (aOR 0·57, 0·46-0·72) and of closeness to others (aOR 0·57, 0·46-0·72). Patterns of association between WBH and mental health were similar in men and women. INTERPRETATION: These findings reinforce a need for more cohesive UK legislation at the national level; guidance on recognition of bullying behaviours for employees, managers, and human resources at the organisational level, focusing on prevention and early intervention, and increased awareness of the impact of WBH on mental health among health-service practitioners. Study limitations include reliance on cross-sectional data collected before pandemic-related and other major changes in workplace practices. Longitudinal data are needed to improve evidence on causality and the longevity of mental health impacts. FUNDING: UK Prevention Research Partnership.

Development of symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder from preschool to adolescence: the role of bullying victimization and emotion regulation.

BACKGROUND: Childhood oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is associated with adverse outcomes which can continue to impair life well into adulthood. Identifying modifiable etiological factors of ODD is therefore essential. Although bullying victimization and poor emotion regulation are assumed to be risk factors for the development of ODD symptoms, little research has been conducted to test this possibility. METHODS: A sample (n = 1,042) from two birth cohorts of children in the city of Trondheim, Norway, was assessed biennially from age 4 to 14 years. Parents and children (from age 8) were assessed with clinical interviews to determine symptoms of ODD, children reported on their victimization from bullying, and teachers reported on children's emotion regulation. RESULTS: Oppositional defiant disorder symptoms increased from age 4 to 6, from age 8 to 10, and then started to wane as children entered adolescence. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model revealed that increased emotion regulation predicted a reduced number of ODD symptoms across development (ß = -.15 to -.13, p < .001). This prediction was equally strong for the angry/irritable and argumentative/defiant dimensions of ODD. No longitudinal links were observed between bullying victimization and ODD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Improving emotion regulation skills may protect against ODD symptoms throughout childhood and adolescence.

Genetic influences on sibling bullying and mental health difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Sibling bullying is associated with mental health difficulties; both in the short and long term. It is commonly assumed that sibling bullying leads to mental health difficulties but additional explanations for the relationship between the two are seldom investigated. METHODS: To address this gap in knowledge, we used a genetically sensitive design with data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (maximum N = 3,959, 53% female). At ages 11-13 years, individuals self-reported their involvement in sibling bullying, as a victim and perpetrator, and parents reported on their child's mental health difficulties. Polygenic scores, indices of genetic risk for psychiatric disorders (major depressive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) were computed using children's genetic data. Regression and structural equation models were fitted to the data. RESULTS: Sibling bullying, victimisation and perpetration, and polygenic scores both predicted mental health difficulties in an additive manner but there was no interaction between them. Polygenic scores for mental health difficulties were also associated with sibling bullying. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that sibling bullying, victimisation and perpetration, is associated with mental health difficulties, even after accounting for some genetic effects. Additionally, the relationship between sibling bullying and mental health difficulties may be, at least partly, due to shared genetic aetiology. One possibility is that genetic risk for mental health difficulties influences the onset of mental health difficulties which in turn make children more susceptible to sibling bullying.

Children's gender essentialism and prejudice: Testing causal links via an experimental manipulation.

Despite increases in visibility, gender-nonconforming young people continue to be at risk for bullying and discrimination. Prior work has established that gender essentialism in children correlates with prejudice against people who do not conform to gender norms, but to date no causal link has been established. The present study investigated this link more directly by testing whether children's gender essentialism and prejudice against gender nonconformity can be reduced by exposure to anti-essentialist messaging. Children ages 6-10 years of age (N = 102) in the experimental condition viewed a short video describing similarities between boys and girls and variation within each gender; children in the control condition (N = 102) viewed a corresponding video describing similarities between two types of climate and variation within each. Children then received measures of gender essentialism and prejudice against gender nonconformity. Finally, to ask whether manipulating children's gender essentialism extends to another domain, we included assessments of racial essentialism and prejudice. We found positive correlations between gender essentialism and prejudice against gender nonconformity; both also correlated negatively with participant age. However, we observed no differences between children in the experimental versus control conditions in overall essentialism or prejudice, indicating that our video was largely ineffective in manipulating essentialism. Accordingly, we were unable to provide evidence of a causal relationship between essentialism and prejudice. We did, however, see a difference between conditions on the discreteness measure, which is most closely linked to the wording in the video. This finding suggests that specific aspects of essentialism in young children may be modifiable. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Consistent with prior research, we found that greater gender essentialism was associated with greater prejudice against gender-nonconforming children; both decreased with age. We randomly assigned children to view either an anti-essentialist video manipulation or a control video to test if this relation was causal in nature. The anti-essentialist video did not reduce overall essentialism as compared to the control, so we did not find support for a causal link. We observed a reduction in the dimension of essentialism most closely linked to the anti-essentialist video language, suggesting the potential utility of anti-essentialist messaging.

Trends in Suicidality and Bullying among New York City Adolescents across Race and Sexual Identity: 2009-2019.

Despite evidence showing rising suicidality among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and Black adolescents, separately, there is scant research on suicide risk trajectories among youth groups across both racial and sexual identities. Thus, we examined trajectories of self-reported suicidal ideation and attempt and their associations with bullying among New York City-based adolescents. We analyzed 2009-2019 NYC Youth Risk Behavior Survey data. We ran weighted descriptive and logistic regression analyses to test for trends in dichotomous suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, bullying at school, and e-bullying variables among students across both race/ethnicity and sexual identity. We assessed associations between suicidality trends and bullying with logistic regressions. Models controlled for age and sex. Suicidal ideation and attempt were 2 and 5 times more likely among LGB than heterosexual participants, respectively. Bullying at school and e-bullying were 2 times more likely among LGB than heterosexual participants. Black LGB participants were the only LGB group for which both suicidal ideation (AOR = 1.04, SE = .003, p < .001) and attempt (AOR = 1.04, SE = .004, p < .001) increased over time. Both increased at accelerating rates. Conversely, White LGB participants were the only LGB group for which both suicidal ideation (AOR = 0.98, SE = .006, p < .001) and attempt (AOR = 0.92, SE = .008, p < .001) decreased over time. These changes occurred in parallel with significant bullying increases for Black and Latina/o/x LGB adolescents and significant bullying decreases for White LGB adolescents. Bullying was positively associated with suicidal ideation and attempt for all adolescents. Findings suggest resources aimed at curbing rising adolescent suicide should be focused on Black LGB youth.

Lower subjective social status is associated with increased adiposity and self-reported eating in the absence of hunger due to negative affect among children reporting teasing distress.

OBJECTIVES: Low social standing and teasing are independently associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and overeating in children. However, children with low social status may be vulnerable to teasing. METHODS: We tested the statistical interaction of subjective social status (SSS) and subjective socioeconomic status (SSES) and teasing distress on BMI, fat mass index (FMI), and eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) in children (Mage = 13.09 years, SD = 2.50 years; 27.8% overweight/obese). Multiple linear regressions identified the main effects of self-reported SSS (compared to peers in school), distress due to teasing, and their interaction on BMI (n = 115), FMI (n = 114), and child- (n = 100) and parent-reported (n = 97) EAH. RESULTS: Teasing distress was associated with greater BMI, FMI, and child-reported EAH due to negative affect (a subscale of EAH) and total EAH scores. There were no associations of SSS with these outcomes. However, there was an interaction between SSS and teasing distress for BMI, FMI, and EAH from negative affect such that lower SSS was associated with higher BMI, FMI, and EAH from negative affect in the presence of teasing distress. However, there were no main effects or interactions (with teasing distress) of SSES on the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the relationship between lower SSS and increased adiposity and overeating behaviors may be exacerbated by other threats to social standing, such as teasing. Children exposed to multiple social threats may be more susceptible to eating beyond physiological need and obesity than those who experience a single form of perceived social disadvantage.

Bias-based bullying, self-esteem, queer identity pride, and disordered eating behaviors among sexually and gender diverse adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Limited research incorporates an intersectional approach when evaluating disordered eating behaviors among those holding minoritized social positions, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning, and/or transgender/gender diverse (LGBTQ) adolescents. The current study assessed stigma experiences from peers at school, self-esteem, LGBTQ pride, and overlapping social positions as they relate to disordered eating behaviors among LGBTQ adolescents. METHOD: Participants included 11,083 adolescents (Mage = 15.6, SD = 1.3; 34.8% transgender/gender diverse) from a large national survey study of LGBTQ adolescents from 2017. Exhaustive Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection analysis was used to identify bias-based bullying experiences (i.e., weight-based, identity-based), self-esteem, LGBTQ pride, and overlapping social positions (i.e., gender identity, sexual identity, race/ethnicity, body mass index (BMI) percentile) associated with the highest prevalence of unhealthy weight control behaviors, extreme unhealthy weight control behaviors, and past year binge eating. RESULTS: Adolescents in the 28 identified groups with a high prevalence of disordered eating behavior held at least one structurally marginalized social position (e.g., high BMI), bias-based bullying experience, low self-esteem, or low LGBTQ pride in addition to being LGBTQ. Weight-based bullying was a salient risk-factor for disordered eating across social positions. Among adolescents with the same social positions, levels of self-esteem, LGBTQ pride, but no bias-based bullying experience, prevalence estimates of disordered eating were, on average, 23% lower. DISCUSSION: LGBTQ adolescents with multiple marginalized social positions and related factors engage in disproportionately high prevalence disordered eating. Findings underscore the importance of addressing intersecting experiences of stigma to reduce disordered eating and promote health equity among adolescents. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Multiply marginalized LGBTQ adolescents, most of whom also reported experiencing bias-based bullying from peers at school, reported disproportionately high prevalence disordered eating. In comparison groups of adolescents with no bias-based bullying experience, prevalence of disordered eating was, on average, 24% lower. Findings underscore the importance of addressing intersecting experiences of stigma to reduce disordered eating and promote health equity among adolescents.

The relationship between cyberbullying perpetration/victimization and suicidal ideation in healthy young adults: the indirect effects of positive and negative psychotic experiences.

BACKGROUND: Even though not all cyber bullies or victims think of (or consider) suicide, they clearly appear to be at an increased risk. One possible strategy to reduce suicide risk is to decrease cyberbullying occurrence; but this approach has its limitations, as it is certainly an illusion to believe that cyberbullying could be controlled or eliminated in a digitalized world. Another alternative and interesting strategy is to consider mediating factors that may indirectly affect suicidality. To this end, our purpose was to test the hypothesis that positive and negative psychotic experiences (PEs) mediate the relationship from cyberbullying perpetration/victimization to suicidal ideation (SI). METHOD: The study followed a cross-sectional design, and was conducted during the period from June to September 2022. A total of 3103 healthy community participants from Lebanon were included (mean age 21.73 ± 3.80 years, 63.6% females). RESULTS: After adjusting over potential confounders, mediation analysis models showed that both positive and negative PEs partially mediated the associations between cyberbullying victimization/perpetration and SI. Higher cyberbullying perpetration and victimization were significantly associated with greater positive and negative PEs; more severe positive and negative PEs were significantly associated with higher levels of SI. Higher cyberbullying victimization and perpetration were significantly and directly associated with higher levels of SI. CONCLUSION: In light of our preliminary findings, there appears to be an urgent need for a new focus on carefully assessing and addressing attenuated psychotic symptoms in healthy individuals engaged in cyberbullying either as victims or bullies and who present with SI. It is important that school counselors and decision-makers consider a holistic approach taking into account both external/environmental (bullying) and internal/individual (PEs) factors in their suicide prevention programs. Future longitudinal research in larger samples are still required to confirm our findings and further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between cyberbullying and suicide.

Are social pressure, bullying and low social support associated with depressive symptoms, self-harm and self-directed violence among adolescents? A cross-sectional study using a structural equation modeling approach.

BACKGROUND: More in-depth evidence about the complex relationships between different risk factors and mental health among adolescents has been warranted. Thus, the aim of the study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of experiencing social pressure, bullying, and low social support on mental health problems in adolescence. METHODS: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 among 15 823 Norwegian adolescents, aged 13-19 years. Structural Equation Modelling was used to assess the relationships between socioeconomic status, social pressure, bullying, social support, depressive symptoms, self-harm and suicide thoughts. RESULTS: Poor family economy and low parental education were associated with high pressure, low parental support and depressive symptoms in males and females. Moreover, poor family economy was associated with bullying perpetration and bullying victimization among males and females, and cyberbullying victimization among females, but not males. Low parental education was associated with bullying victimization among males, but not females. Further, high social pressure was associated with depressive symptoms among males and females, whereas high social pressure was linked to self-harm and suicide thoughts among females, but not males. Bullying victimization and cyberbullying victimization were associated with depressive symptoms, self-harm, and suicide thoughts among males and females. Bullying victimization was associated with depressive symptoms among males, but not females, whereas bullying perpetration was linked to self-harm and suicide thoughts among females, but not males. Low parental support was associated with bullying perpetration, bullying victimization, depressive symptoms, self-harm and suicide thoughts among males and females, whereas low parental support was associated with high social pressure among females, but not males. Low teacher support was associated with high social pressure and depressive symptoms. Low support from friends was associated with bullying victimization, depressive symptoms and suicide thoughts among males and females, whereas low support from friends was linked to self-harm among males, but not females. Finally, results showed that depressive symptoms were associated with self-harm and suicide thoughts among males and females. CONCLUSION: Low socioeconomic status, social pressure, bullying and low social support were directly and indirectly associated with depressive symptoms and self-directed violence among Norwegian adolescents.

Associations of vegetable and fruit intake, physical activity, and school bullying with depressive symptoms in secondary school students: the mediating role of internet addiction.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have simultaneously focused on the associations of vegetable and fruit intake, physical activity, school bullying, and Internet addiction (IA) with depressive symptoms. This study aimed to explore the direct and indirect effects of the above factors on depressive symptoms in adolescents by constructing a structural equation model (SEM). METHODS: This study was conducted in Qingdao from September to November 2021. A total of 6195 secondary school students aged 10-19 years were included in the analysis. Information on all variables was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. An SEM was constructed with depressive symptoms as the endogenous latent variable, IA as the mediating variable, and vegetable and fruit intake, physical activity, and school bullying as the exogenous latent variables. The standardized path coefficients (ß) were the direct effects between the latent variables, and the indirect effects were obtained by the product of direct effects between relevant latent variables. RESULTS: The median value with the interquartile range of depressive symptom scores was 7 (3,12). Vegetable and fruit intake (ß=-0.100, P<0.001) and physical activity (ß=-0.140, P<0.001) were directly negatively related to depressive symptoms. While school bullying (ß=0.138, P<0.001) and IA (ß=0.452, P<0.001) were directly positively related to depressive symptoms. IA had the greatest impact on depressive symptoms. Vegetable and fruit intake, physical activity, and school bullying could not only directly affect depressive symptoms, but also indirectly affect depressive symptoms through the mediating effect of IA, the indirect effects and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were -0.028 (-0.051, -0.007), -0.114 (-0.148, -0.089) and 0.095 (0.060, 0.157), respectively. The results of the multi-group analysis showed that the SEM we constructed still fit in boy and girl groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that vegetable and fruit intake, physical activity, school bullying, and IA had a significant direct impact on depressive symptoms, among which IA had the greatest impact. In addition, both vegetable and fruit intake, school bullying, and physical activity indirectly affected depressive symptoms through the mediating effect of IA. The impact of IA on depressive symptoms should be given extra attention by schools and parents. This study provides a scientific and effective basis for the prevention and control of adolescent depressive symptoms.

Face-to-face bullying in and outside of schools and cyberbullying are associated with suicidality in Kenyan high school students: a public health issue.

BACKGROUND: Childhood bullying has been classified as a major public health concern by WHO, with negative effects on the health education and social outcomes of both bullies and victims. There is no current Kenyan data on the prevalence of face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying co-occurring in the same cohort of youth and how they are associated with different aspects of suicidality and socio-demographic characteristics. This study aims to fill these gaps in the Kenyan situation so as to inform current policy and practice. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study involved 2,652 students from ten secondary schools in Kenya, selected from three regions representing different levels of public funded schools and socioeconomic spaces. The outcome variable was derived from the questionnaire which asked students questions related to self-harm, suicide thoughts, plans, and attempts. Predictor variables were based on response on experience of bullying in school, out of school, at home, and cyberbullying. Other variables such as gender, age, family background, and class were also collected from the self-reported questions. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, with descriptive summary statistics and chi-square tests used to examine variables, and logistic regression analysis used to determine the associations between suicidality and experience of bullying. RESULTS: The mean age was 16.13 years. More than half of the participants were male, with the largest proportion living in rural areas. Face-to-face bullying was more prevalent than cyberbullying, with 82% of participants experiencing bullying and 68% experiencing it almost daily in the past six months. Both face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying were associated with suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. Predictors of suicidal attempts included being bullied outside of school and being a victim of group bullying, while being bullied every day and being bullied by adult men were predictors of suicidal attempts in cyberbullying. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of face-to-face bullying both in and outside schools. There is also a high prevalence of cyberbullying. Both face-to-face and cyberbullying are associated with suicidality in Kenyan high school students.

Impact of Workplace Bullying on Nursing Care Quality: A Comprehensive Review.

Workplace bullying, commonly known as mobbing, persists as a significant problem across various industries, including the healthcare sector. To establish effective interventions and protocols for enhancing the well-being of healthcare workers and patients, it is vital to fully grasp the link between workplace bullying and the quality of nursing care. The analysis highlights the complex link between workplace bullying and nursing care quality, stressing the urgency of addressing this issue due to its wide-reaching impact on individuals and healthcare organizations, ultimately affecting patient safety. Emphasizing the significance of addressing workplace bullying across different professional settings is crucial for protecting the mental health and well-being of employees. The research identifies various forms of aggression and emphasizes the need to understand how these behaviors affect patient outcomes. Further investigation is needed to clarify nurses' responses to workplace violence, particularly in specialized settings like mental health facilities. The studies underscore the numerous challenges nurses encounter when trying to report incidents of workplace bullying. This insight is vital for developing effective reporting mechanisms and targeted interventions to combat bullying behaviors in medical environments. Ultimately, establishing a safer working environment for nurses is paramount. This article aims to review the associations between workplace bullying and the quality of nursing care.

The social contexts of behaviors and relationships: The relation of classroom and cyber victimization to number of classroom and cyber friends.

Behaviors and relationships exist within a variety of social contexts. More specifically for the current research, victimization and friendships occur in classrooms and, increasingly, in online virtual contexts. The current research examined how the number of classroom friends and number of cyber friends related to the extent of classroom victimization and extent of cyber victimization. Research has demonstrated the importance of face-to-face friendships in relation to being a victim; much less is known about the role of cyber friends in relation to being a cyber victim or how these relationships may play a role in cross-context victimization. Participants were 350 children from Grades 3 through 5 (188 girls and 162 boys). Children indicated classroom friends on a classroom roster, reported the number of their cyber friends, and indicated the extent of their cyber victimization. Peers nominated classmates for classroom victimization behaviors. A path analysis revealed that number of classroom friends was negatively associated with both extent of classroom victimization and extent of cyber victimization. Number of cyber friends was positively associated with extent of cyber victimization and was negatively related to extent of classroom victimization. Discussion of results includes the construction, use, and adaptation of social skills within and between social contexts.

Bullying Victimization in Children and Adolescents and Its Impact on Academic Outcomes.

ABSTRACT: Bullying victimization has been identified as a significant factor influencing academic outcomes. We sought to evaluate the educational outcomes and psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents who are victims of bullying using the National Survey of Children's Health dataset for the study. The participants were children and adolescents (age: 6-17 years) categorized into two groups: group 1, not bullied ( n = 21,015), and group 2, bullied more than once ( n = 21,775). Individuals whose health status was fair or poor have experienced more bullying (2.4% vs . 1.4%, p < 0.001). Individuals in the group 2 were more likely to repeat the grades than the group 1 (7.1% vs . 5.9%, p = 0.039). Individuals who were missing ≥11 school days and sometimes or never engaged in school were observed to be more in the group 2 compared with the group 1 (5.9% vs . 3.2% and 20.3% vs . 10.6%, p < 0.001). In conclusion, bullying victimization could be a risk factor and associated with decreased academic outcomes.

Pathways From Bullying Victimization to Suicidal Thoughts Among Urban African American Adolescents: Applying the General Strain Theory.

ABSTRACT: The present study explores the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts among African American adolescents in urban neighborhoods. The study, which was guided by the general strain theory, proposed and tested potential pathways that link bullying victimization with suicidal thoughts through the mediators including emotional distress, low future orientation, hopelessness, and drug use. The study sample included 414 African American adolescents who were between ages 12 and 22 years and residing in low-income Chicago's South Side neighborhoods. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and path analyses were conducted. Bullying victimization was not significantly related to suicidal thoughts, although it was positively associated with emotional distress and drug use. The association between low future orientation and hopelessness was bidirectional. The study findings have implications for practice, which is important as resources to assist adolescents who are affected by violence tend to be limited.

Childhood intra- and extra-familial maltreatment and later-life trajectories of depressive symptoms: evidence from China.

BACKGROUND: Both late-life depression and childhood maltreatment have become major global public health issues, given their prevalence and social-economic and health consequences. However, previous studies have solely focused on the relationship of childhood maltreatment to average levels of depressive symptoms. The current study addresses this gap of knowledge by simultaneously examining the impacts of childhood intra- and extra-familial maltreatment on age trajectories of depressive symptoms in later life in the Chinese context. METHODS: Hierarchical linear models were applied to data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011-2018, N = 12,669 individuals aged 45 to 80, comprising N = 43,348 person-years). Depressive symptoms were measured by the CES-D-10 scale. Childhood intra-familial maltreatments were measured by physical abuse and emotional neglect, while extra-familial maltreatment was measured by peer bullying. All analyses were conducted separately by gender in Stata 16. RESULTS: Childhood extrafamilial peer bullying (ß = 1.628, p < 0.001), and intrafamilial physical abuse (ß = 0.746, p < 0.001) and emotional neglect (ß = 0.880, p < 0.001) were associated with higher later-life depressive symptoms levels in the whole sample. Peer bullying differences in depressive symptoms widened with age for both men and women. Physical abuse differences in depressive symptoms remained stable over the life course among men but increased among women. Emotional neglect differences in depressive symptoms decreased with age among men, while it increased first and then decreased among women. CONCLUSIONS: Findings in this study suggest that childhood maltreatment is not only associated with later-life poorer mental health but contributes to increasing inequalities in mental health as people age, especially among peer-bullying victims and women.

Age of victimization and moderating role of social support for the relationship between school-age bullying and life satisfaction in middle-age.

AIMS: This study aimed to examine whether the moderating role of social support on the negative association between school-age bullying victimization and life satisfaction in middle-age was different by age of victimization. METHODS: A longitudinal study was conducted using data collected at the ages of 7, 11 and 50 years in the 1958 British birth cohort (N = 18,558). Frequency of bullying victimization (never, sometimes, or frequently) was assessed by parental interviews at ages seven and 11. A self-reported questionnaire assessed life satisfaction and perceived social support (instrumental and emotional) at age 50. To determine the moderating effect of social support on the association between bullying victimization and life satisfaction, hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted in which two interaction terms, victimization at age seven by social support and victimization at age 11 by social support, were simultaneously entered into the models. RESULTS: Among 5304 respondents subjected to the statistical analysis, 34% had bullying victimization at age 7 years; 23% had bullying victimization at age 11 years. Instrumental support significantly buffered the effect of frequent victimization at age 11 (ß = 0.03, p = 0.03) and significantly deteriorated the effect of frequent victimization at age 7 years (ß = -0.04, p = 0.01), after adjusting for childhood confounders. No significant moderating effect was observed for emotional support. CONCLUSIONS: Instrumental support in middle-age may more effectively buffer the effect of late school-age victimization than of early school-age victimization, while both effect sizes were small and additional research is needed.