Understanding the Complexities of Adolescent Bullying: The Interplay between Peer Relationships, Emotion Regulation, and Victimization

Abstract

Bullying is a major social problem that is receiving increased attention in society and research. The overarching goal of the current study was to identify risk and protective factors of bullying examining direct effects between peer relationship, emotion regulation, and bullying involvement. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted with N = 201 students (55.7% female) between the ages of 10 and 15 ( M = 12.86 ; SD = 1.29 ). Path model analysis revealed that trust had a negative effect on victimization, dysfunctional emotion regulation had a positive effect on perpetration and victimization, alienation had a positive effect on dysfunctional emotion regulation, and victimization and communication had a positive effect on functional emotion regulation. Additionally, dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies mediate the path from alienation to bullying and to victimization. Study results underline the importance of considering the bullying dynamic from a combined perspective of intra- and interindividual factors. The results partially confirmed the hypotheses and contribute to our knowledge about individual and contextual correlates of bullying in adolescents. The present findings suggest that group facilitation with the entire class in team building could be a useful intervention to strengthen peer relationships as well as the relationships between classmates and teachers and students.

Bullying Victimization and Adolescent Depression, Anxiety and Stress: The Mediation of Cognitive Emotion Regulation

“…In this perspective, emotional responses associated with bullying victimization adversely affect adolescents' cognitive flexibility [40], and may thus negatively impact their CER [39]. Previous studies have reported a higher use of dysfunctional CER strategies (e.g., catastrophizing, self-blame, blaming others, and rumination) among bullied school students as compared with non-bullied school students [41], emphasizing the possibility that bullying victimization could be related to poor cognitive systems of emotion regulation [42]. Considering that a greater use of dysfunctional CER has been associated with high psychopathological symptoms in adolescents [43,44], CER strategies may be potential mediators of the association between bullying victimization and mental difficulties in this population.…”