Experiencing bullying's impact on adolescent depression and anxiety: Mediating role of adolescent resilience

Jacqueline R Anderson; Taryn L Mayes; Anne Fuller; Jennifer L Hughes; Abu Minhajuddin; Madhukar H Trivedi

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.003

Experiencing bullying's impact on adolescent depression and anxiety: Mediating role of adolescent resilience

J Affect Disord. 2022 Aug 1:310:477-483. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.003. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Authors

Jacqueline R Anderson¹, Taryn L Mayes², Anne Fuller³, Jennifer L Hughes⁴, Abu Minhajuddin⁵, Madhukar H Trivedi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of School Psychology, University of Northern Colorado, Greely, CO, United States; Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
² Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
³ School of Psychology, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
⁴ Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, United States; The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, United States.
⁵ Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; Department of Population and Data Sciences, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
⁶ Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States. Electronic address: madhukar.trivedi@utsouthwestern.edu.

PMID: 35390356
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.04.003

Abstract

Youth who experience bullying are at risk for psychopathology, indicating the necessity of identifying factors that may protect against the deleterious effects of being bullied. The present study expands upon prior research by examining resilience as a mediator of the effects of experiencing bullying on depression and anxiety within a sample of 2155 adolescents. Results indicated that youth who experienced bullying were more likely to have higher symptoms of depression and anxiety and lower resilience, while higher levels of resilience were associated with fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety. Resilience partially mediated the associations of experiencing bullying with depression and anxiety symptoms, suggesting that resilience may serve as a protective factor for adolescents who experience bullying. These findings have implications for programming that seeks to address bullying, peer victimization, and promotion of adolescent mental health.

Keywords: Bullying; Mental health; Peer victimization; Resilience; Youth.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anxiety / epidemiology
Anxiety / psychology
Anxiety Disorders / epidemiology
Bullying* / psychology
Crime Victims* / psychology
Depression / epidemiology
Depression / psychology
Humans

Grants and funding

UL1 TR001105/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United States