School bullying and adolescents’ depressive symptoms: The mediation role of perceived stress

IntroductionAbout 10%-20% of children and adolescents are regularly involved in school bullying as either victims, bullies, or both (Kaltiala-Heino & Frojd, 2011). A growing body of research highlights the range of adverse consequences affecting individuals involved in school bullying (Kaltiala-Heino & Frojd, 2011). Adolescents involved in school bullying are at a significant risk of experiencing psychiatric symptoms, alcohol and drug abuse, suicidal ideation (Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Mortin, & Scheidt, 2001; Brunstein Klomek, Marroco, Kleinman, Schonfeld, & Gould, 2007; Liang, Flisher, & Lombard, 2007; Carlyle & Steinman, 2007). Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health problems of adolescence, studies estimating that 4%-8% of adolescents are experiencing depressive symptoms (Slee, 1995; Solber & Olweus, 2003; Juvonen, Graham, & Schuster, 2003). The present study investigates the relationship between school bullying with its two dimensions: school aggression and school victimisation and depressive symptoms taking into account the potential mediation role of perceived stress.DepressionIn literature "depression" is used to refer to depressive affect; to depressive symptoms measured by symptoms scales or self-reported depression; and to depressive disorders that fulfil the criteria in diagnostic classifications (Kaltiala-Heino & Frojd, 2011). In adolescence, mood changes are common (Lewinsohn, Rohde, & Seelev, 1998). A depressive affect as a normative reaction to losses and failures can often be relieved by focusing on others aspects of life, and does not include impaired functioning (Kaltiala-Heino & Frojd, 2011). For the present study, depressive symptoms were measured rather than a clinical depression.School bullyingSchool bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behaviour. Aggressive behaviour can be categorized according to its nature into overt/direct aggression (physical and verbal) and relational/indirect aggression (hostile manipulation of relationships by spreading rumours); and according to the motivation, into reactive (angry response to provocation or threat) and proactive (unprovoked, used for instrumental gain or dominance over others) aggression (Marsee, Weems, & Taylor, 2008). All the definitions provided in the school bullying literature share some features: bullying is considered repetitive, intentional, negative behaviour that can manifest in many ways. A core element is that bullying involves also a perceived power imbalance between the victim and the perpetrator.The literature identifies physical, verbal, and relational bullying. Verbal bullying is more common than physical bullying among adolescents of both sexes (Scheitbauer, Hayer, Petermann, & Jugert, 2009). This phenomenon does not concern only the victim and the bully but also other pupils present may either support the perpetrator by their behaviour, try to defend the victim, or withdraw (Salmivalli, Kaukiainen, Kaistaniemi, & Lagerspetz, 1999). School victimization and depressive symptomsPublic debate frequently associates victimization from bullying with depressive affect and disorders, assuming a causal relationship between being bullied and becoming depressed (Kaltiala-Heino & Frojd, 2011). The recurrence of depressive disorders may be moderated or mediated by losses, abuse, traumatic events, high levels of perceived stress, ongoing conflicts or frustrations and predispose children to depression (Laugharne, Lillee, & Janca, 2010). Particularly during adolescent development, when peer relationships are of utmost importance (Larson & Richards, 1991), traumatic events such as being bullied, could cause trauma severe enough to lead to depression (Kaltiala-Heino & Frojd, 2011) and depression in adolescence is known to impair social skills (Lewinsohn et al., 1998) so that the victims of bullying have been characterized as submissive and showing signs of helplessness, being less popular among peers, and displaying lowered self-esteem (Turner, Finkelhor, & Ormrod, 2010). …