About this srcd poster session

---

Panel information
Panel 22. Social Relationships

Abstract

---

Background:
Bullying victimization in schools is a common issue, with approximately one in five students experiencing repeated victimization by peers. This behavior is associated with poor academic performance, high dropout rates, truancy, and can even lead to self-harm and suicide. Children who are bullied are at a higher risk of emotional disorders and various psychological issues. To mitigate depressive symptoms in children, investigating the mechanisms behind bullying is crucial. Research indicates that bullying can impact adolescent depression through coping strategies and emotional regulation. Rumination, as a response to negative events and an emotional regulation strategy, may play a key role in the relationship between victimization and depression, with two forms: rumination on sadness and anger, which involve repetitive thinking about sad and angry emotions, respectively. These forms have different impacts on the development of depressive symptoms. Further study of rumination could provide a theoretical basis for school bullying interventions.While previous research has established rumination's mediating role between bullying and depression, few longitudinal studies have explored the causal relationships among these factors. This study aims to investigate the roles of anger and sadness rumination in the relationship between childhood bullying victimization and depressive symptoms using a longitudinal design.
Methods:
A total of 2358 Chinese adolescents with a range of 9 to 12 years old (49.8% girls) completed assessments on three waves across approximately 3 years. The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was utilized to assess the participants' experiences of being bullied. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Children’s Depression Inventory—Short Version (CDI–S). The Sadness and Anger Rumination Questionnaire was employed to assess rumination on sadness and anger. Data were collected at three time points over the course of a year. A cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) were used to analyze the causal relationships and assess the longitudinal mediating roles.
Results and Discussion:
Bullying victimization positively predicts rumination on sadness, on anger, and depressive symptoms, CLPM revealed a significant longitudinal mediating effect of victimization through rumination on sadness (β = 0.01; P < 0.05) and anger (β = 0.01; P < 0.05) on depressive symptoms. children who are bullied may focus more on negative feelings, making them more prone to ruminate, which in turn can activate negative thinking patterns and increase the risk of depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms can, in turn, lead to further victimization through anger rumination (β = 0.01; P < 0.05). Children with depressive symptoms may be overly sensitive to negative events, leading to hostile or poorly controlled emotional behaviors in social situations, which can make them more susceptible to being targeted for bullying.
Conclusion:
This study employed a longitudinal design to reveal that victimization leads to depressive symptoms through two distinct mechanisms: rumination on sadness and anger rumination. Furthermore, depressive symptoms were found to increase the likelihood of victimization in children through ruminative processes, exploring the cognitive interplay between victimization and depression. These findings provide crucial insights for the development of interventions aimed at reducing depressive symptoms in bullied children.

Author information

Author	Role
Bofan Zhang, Collaborative Innovation Center OfAssessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University,China	Presenting author
Ping Ren, Collaborative Innovation Center OfAssessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University,China	Non-presenting author
Jiahui Chen, Collaborative Innovation Center OfAssessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University,China	Non-presenting author
Yuke Xiong, Collaborative Innovation Center OfAssessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University,China	Non-presenting author

⇦ Back to session