Citation

Mei S, Hu Y, Sun M, Fei J, Li C, Liang L, Hu Y. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021; 18(6).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph18063316

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Bullying victimization and its effect on symptoms of depression have received attention from researchers, but few studies have considered the potential mechanism. The aim of this study was to examine a moderated mediation model for the association between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in terms of it being mediated by social anxiety, and investigated whether sleep duration would show moderating effects in this relationship.

METHODS: In this study, there were 2956 students, who completed three questionnaires, including a bullying victimization scale, as well as a social anxiety and epidemiologic studies depression scale.

RESULTS: Bullying victimization's effects on depressive symptoms were mediated by social anxiety. Furthermore, sleep duration moderated the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: The research contributes by clarifying the mechanisms underlying the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms.

Language: en

Keywords

social anxiety; depressive symptoms; sleep duration; bullying victimization; moderated mediation analysis