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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the relationship between bullying victimization and depression was unidirectional or bidirectional, whether the effects themselves were direct (unmediated) or indirect (mediated), and if sex moderated the results. This was done using a sample of 845 early adolescent youth (406 boys, 439 girls; mean age = 12.13 years at the start of the study) from a single middle school located in the northeastern region of the United States. Using data obtained from these students we explored the cross-lagged association between bullying victimization and depression across three waves of data mediated by perceived parental support and knowledge. Results from a four-equation regression analysis revealed that the relationship between bullying victimization and depression was unidirectional and that it varied by sex. As such, two patterns arose, one in which bullying victimization had a direct effect on depression that was exclusive to girls, and the other in which depression had an indirect effect on bullying victimization via a change in perceived parental support that was exclusive to boys.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the staff and students at J. T. Lambert Middle School in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, without whom this study would not have been possible.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Comparisons between participants with and without missing data using a Bonferroni-corrected alpha level produced only one significant difference between the groups for the 14 variables included in this study. Specifically, a significantly greater proportion of white youth had complete data on all 14 variables compared to nonwhite youth.
2. We tested two additional cognitively based variables as potential mediators of the bullying victimization-depression relationship: moral neutralization (11 items, α = .82) and cognitive impulsivity (8 items, α = .82). Pairing moral neutralization with cognitive impulsivity, just as was done with perceived parental support and perceived parental knowledge in the main analysis, revealed that both variables failed to mediate the bullying victimization-depression relationship – moral neutralization (point estimate = 0.004, 95% BCBCI = −0.003, 0.015) and cognitive impulsivity (point estimate = 0.005, 95% BCBCI = −0.001, 0.016) – although the direct effect between bullying victimization and depression remained significant (point estimate = 0.142, 95% BCBCI = 0.029, 0.261). The same outcome was achieved when two behavioral indicators – bullying perpetration (4 items, α = .70) and peer deviance (3 items, α = .63) – replaced moral neutralization and cognitive impulsivity as mediators of the bullying victimization-depression relationship. Pairing these two variables together disclosed that neither variable mediated the bullying victimization-depression relationship – bullying perpetration (point estimate = −0.001, 95% BCBCI = −0.020, 0.020) and peer deviance (point estimate = 95% = 0.005, BCBCI = −0.005, 0.027) – although the direct effect of bullying victimization on depression was once again significant (point estimate = 0.152, 95% BCBCI = 0.031, 0.273).