Longitudinal relationship between child maltreatment, bullying victimization, depression, and nonsuicidal self‐injury among left‐behind children in China: 2‐year follow‐up

Abstract

BackgroundLeft‐behind childre (LBC) in China are deeply concerned by society because of their high risk of emotional and behavioral problems. Depression and nonsuicidal self‐injury are the most harmful and worrying negative emotional and behavioral problems in LBC. Unfortunately, LBCs are in unfavorable environments for a long time and are prone to negative interpersonal interactions. Child maltreatment and bullying victimization, as the two most typical negative interpersonal interactions in family and school environments, maybe the key risk factors for depression and nonsuicidal self‐injury among LBCs. However, we are less known of the longitudinal effects of child maltreatment and bullying victimization on LBC's depression and nonsuicidal self‐injury and their underlying mechanisms.AimsThis study used a two‐year longitudinal design with three‐time points to investigate the longitudinal effects of child maltreatment and bullying victimization on depression, nonsuicidal self‐injury, and the mediating role of negative thoughts and self‐compassion.Materials & MethodsA sample of 592 LBC (390 were males, Mage at time 1 = 9.56, SDage = 0.65; 202 were females, Mage at time 1 = 9.43, SDage = 0.63) completed a set of questionnaires at three‐time points. This study used SPSS software (version 25.0) and MPLUS software (version 8.3) for all analyses.Results(1) Child maltreatment not only affects depression and nonsuicidal self‐injury but also affects depression and nonsuicidal self‐injury through negative thoughts. Child maltreatment affects depression through self‐compassion and does not affect nonsuicidal self‐injury. (2) Bullying victimization affects depression and nonsuicidal self‐injury through negative thoughts and bullying victimization further affects depression through self‐compassion but does not affect nonsuicidal self‐injury.ConclusionThis study revealed the effects of negative interpersonal interactions (child maltreatment, bullying victimization) on LBC's adverse emotions and behaviors, and their underlying mechanisms, which helps to provide parents, schools, and psychoeducational workers with a new perspective on intervention.

The relationship between cumulative family risk and depression in left-behind children: a moderated mediation model

“…School climate refers to the quality and characteristics of school life, encompassing teacher support, peer support, and opportunities for autonomy, emphasizing the interpersonal relationships among students and between students and teachers [41]. A positive school climate signi cantly promotes the psychological and behavioral development of left-behind children [42], providing them with a sense of security and emotional support, thus reducing the occurrence of adverse emotions [43]. Studies have found a signi cant negative correlation between school climate and adolescent depression; adolescents who perceive a school climate as negative are more prone to experiencing depressive issues [44][45][46].…”

Associations between left-behind characteristics and children’s psychological symptoms: A cross-sectional study from China

“…Although the study is not focused on LBC, it is reasonable to infer that LBC may be more susceptible to sexual abuseprovoked depression [49,51,52]. Additionally, family factors can affect LBC's psychological symptoms, including family income [53] parental education [54], and rearing patterns [55]. For example, A research showed that a low family income level was positively associated with severe DS among LBC, speci cally, family income below 2,000 RMB per month presented a risk of major DS that was 4.02 times greater than that in homes with a monthly income above 8,000 RMB [56].…”

“…Therefore, psychological health problems and their risk factors among LBC urgently require close attention. Furthermore, most research has determined that individual lifestyle, school social environment, and family factors are strongly associated with DS and AS among LBC [53,54], but only a few studies have examined the relationship between left-behind characteristics and DS and AS among LBC [60,61]. We argue, however, that different types of caregivers, parent-child separation timing, and the duration of parent-child separation may have far-reaching in uence on DS and AS among LBC.…”

The bidirectional relationship between peer relationships and bullying: Evidence from cross‐lagged analyses among Chinese children

“…However, cyberbullying is characterized by anonymity, uncertain audiences and the potential to occur anytime and anywhere (Låftman et al, 2017). Bullying is widespread among groups of children and often results in negative consequences, including anxiety (Pontillo et al, 2019), depression (Yan et al, 2023) and suicidal tendencies (Dehnel et al, 2023). Therefore, scholars must explore the factors related to bullying to develop better prevention strategies.…”

“…Bullying is a form of aggressive behaviour through physical and electronic means in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort (Chu et al, 2023; Yan et al, 2023). Bullying includes both traditional and cyber forms, and they are repetitive, intentionally hurtful and characterized by power imbalance.…”