A Prospective and Repeat Cross-Sectional Study of Bullying Victimization Among Adolescents From Before COVID-19 to the Two School Years Following the Pandemic Onset

Patte, Karen A.; Gohari, Mahmood R.; Lucibello, Kristen M.; Bélanger, Richard E.; Farrell, Ann H.; Leatherdale, Scott T.

doi:10.1080/15388220.2024.2333504

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Thus, it is possible that in some regions where students experienced longer durations of pandemic restrictions, online socialization may have contributed to more opportunities for cyberbullying. More recently, Patte et al (27) found that the odds of bullying victimization decreased at the start of the pandemic (2020/2021 academic year) in cross-sectional and longitudinal samples. However, in the following academic year (2021/2022) these odds increased to surpass pre-pandemic prevalence rates.…”

Section: Bullying Before and During The Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bullying victimization and mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Farrell,

Brittain,

Krygsman

et al. 2024

Front. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry

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IntroductionBullying victimization is associated with numerous mental health difficulties yet studies from early in the COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant decreases in bullying victimization but significant increases in mental health difficulties for many children and adolescents. It is unclear whether the decrease in bullying victimization early in the pandemic translated to weaker associations between bullying victimization and mental health difficulties.MethodsUsing a population-based design, we examined whether the correlations between bullying victimization and mental health difficulties were significantly weaker in magnitude during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic in a sample of 6,578 Canadian students in grades 4–12. Students were randomly assigned to report on their bullying and mental health experiences either during the school year before the pandemic or the school year during the pandemic. Only students who reported experiences of victimization were included in the present study as questions on mental health were specifically on difficulties experienced due to victimization.ResultsAs expected, overall bullying victimization and mental health difficulties were significantly correlated before and during the pandemic, but correlations were significantly weaker in magnitude during the pandemic for girls and secondary students. Significant decreases in correlation magnitude were also found predominately for general, verbal, and social forms of bullying victimization, but not for physical and cyber victimization. Among students who reported victimization, we also found significantly lower means for mental health difficulties and most forms of bullying victimization during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic.DiscussionFindings indicate a strong coupling of bullying victimization and mental health difficulties, particularly before the pandemic, and the need to reduce these associations to improve the well-being of children and adolescents.

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Section: Bullying Before and During The Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%