School bullying victimization and post-traumatic stress symptoms in adolescents: the mediating roles of feelings of insecurity and self-disclosure

Abstract

Background Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSSs) is known to be a typical problem for school bullying victims. However, the underlying mechanism between school bullying victimization and PTSSs remains unknown. This study examined the mediating roles of feelings of insecurity and self-disclosure in the relationship between school bullying victimization and PTSSs in adolescents. Methods Self-report questionnaires were used to assess 5013 adolescents; 443 of them with school bullying experiences were selected to carry out this study. Results The results found that school bullying victimization was directly related to more PTSSs, indirectly associated with more PTSSs through feelings of insecurity, and through the path from feelings of insecurity to self-disclosure. However, school bullying victimization did not exert an indirect effect on PTSSs through one step effect of self-disclosure. Conclusions These findings indicated that feelings of insecurity and self-disclosure mediated the relationship between school bullying victimization and PTSSs. The psychological service should reduce adolescents’ feelings of insecurity and give them more chances to disclose their bullying experiences.

Trait rumination in post-stress growth among Chinese college students: the chain mediating effect of distress disclosure and perceived social support

“…Hypothesized relationships between rumination, distress disclosure, perceived social support, and PSG. (60,61). The DDI comprises 12 items and is designed to gauge the extent to which an individual feels at ease discussing personally distressing information with others (62).…”

The Effect of Bullying Victimization on Adolescent Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: The Mediating Roles of Alexithymia and Self-Esteem

“…The affect-regulation model of NSSI states that NSSI is a maladaptive coping style to deal with adverse emotions caused by the experiences of victimization. 33 For instance, adolescents who are bullied at school can experience a series of negative feelings, such as tension, frustration, and fear, 34 , 35 which may lead adolescents to implement NSSI to release emotional stress. 36 Several empirical studies also demonstrate that NSSI is more common among adolescents with experiences of bullying victimization compared to adolescents without such experiences.…”

“… 41 For the majority of adolescents, bullying victimization is deemed a traumatic experience. 35 In such circumstances, alexithymia symptoms may emerge as a negative reaction to the pressure induced by bullying victimization and can be interpreted as a psychological coping mechanism by which teenagers attempt to suppress negative feelings triggered by bullying victimization. A positive association between bullying victimization and alexithymia has been demonstrated.…”

Enhancing Cultural Empathy in International Social Work Education through Virtual Reality

“…Bullying-a power domination behaviour by an individual or group to intentionally harm others either physically or emotionally over a period-is a social problem that is affecting children in all parts of the world [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Globally, almost one in three students (32%) are bullied by their peers at least once every month [3,5].…”

“…Previous studies have shown a strong association between school bullying victimisation and adverse health risks of mental, psychosocial, and behavioural problems as well as later life performance [7,8]. Bullying, as a violent and oppressive behaviour, causes harm, and, therefore, provides a powerful moral imperative for particular attention within social work education and intervention [9].…”