Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T07:38:26.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does Perceived Social Support Mediate or Moderate the Relationship Between Victimisation and Suicidal Ideation Among Chinese Adolescents?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2016

Xiaoqun Liu ,
Gui Chen ,
Peng Hu ,
Guipin Guo  and
Shuiyuan Xiao
Xiaoqun Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, XiangYa School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China Department of Women & Children's Health, XiangYa School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Gui Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, XiangYa School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Peng Hu
Affiliation:
School of Education, The Research Central of Psychology and Behavior in Gungzhou, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, Gungdong, China
Guipin Guo
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, XiangYa School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
Shuiyuan Xiao*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, XiangYa School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
*
address for correspondence: Shuiyuan Xiao, MD, Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, XiangYa School of Public Health, Central South University, 111 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan, China410078. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Bullying is a common problem in school. Engagement in bullying has been known to have many adverse effects, even including suicide. Examining which factor will moderate or mediate the pathway from victimisation to suicidal ideation is needed to develop effective intervention initiatives. This study aimed to examine the mediator and moderator roles of perceived social support in the relationship between victimisation and suicidal ideation. The participants in the study were 946 Chinese adolescents (402 girls, 544 boys) who ranged in age from 11 to 16 years old. The results showed that 48.1% of these adolescents reported being bullied in school. Victimisation was positively correlated with suicidal ideation. There was evidence that perceived social support buffered, as well as partially mediated, the relationship between victimisation and suicidal ideation. Results suggest that helping students to seek more support from their parents and peers may be an effective bullying intervention program.

Keywords

victimisationsocial supportsuicidal ideationadolescents
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , June 2017 , pp. 123 - 136
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baldry, A.C. (2004). The impact of direct and indirect bullying on the mental and physical health of Italian youngsters. Aggressive Behaviour, 30, 343–355.Google Scholar
Baldry, A.C., & Winkel, F.W. (2003). Direct and vicarious victimization at school and at home as risk factors for suicidal cognition among Italian adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 703–716.Google Scholar
Barrera, M. Jr (1986). Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models. American Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 413–445.Google Scholar
Bonanno, R.A., & Hymel, S. (2010). Beyond hurt feelings: Investigating why some victims of bullying are at greater risk for suicidal ideation. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 56, 420–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, L., Carlin, J.B., Thomas, L., Rubin, K., & Patton, G. (2001). Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers. BMJ, 323 (7311), 480–484.Google Scholar
Brunstein, K.A., Sourander, A., & Gould, M. (2010). The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: a review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie), 55, 282–288.Google Scholar
Cohen, S., Gottlieb, B.H., & Underwood, L.G. (Eds.). (2000). Social relationships and health. In Social support measurement and intervention: A guide for health and social scientists (pp. 1–25). New York: Oxford.Google Scholar
Davidson, L.M., & Demaray, M.K. (2007). Social support as a moderator between victimization and internalizing-externalizing distress from bullying. School Psychology Review, 36, 383.Google Scholar
Gao, J. (2011). Perceived social support and loneliness in junior high school students. Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, China.Google Scholar
Gini, G., & Pozzoli, T. (2009). Association between bullying and psychosomatic problems: A meta-analysis. Paediatrics, 123, 1059–1065.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawker, D.S., & Boulton, M.J. (2000). Twenty years’ research on peer victimization and psychosocial maladjustment: A meta-analytic review of cross-sectional studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 441–455.Google Scholar
Holt, M.K., & Espelage, D.L. (2007). Perceived social support among bullies, victims, and bully-victims. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 984–994.Google Scholar
Kaltiala-Heino, R., Rimpelä, M., Marttunen, M., Rimpelä, A., & Rantanen, P. (1999). Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: school survey. BMJ, 319 (7206), 348–351.Google Scholar
Kessler, R.C., Price, R.H., & Wortman, C.B. (1985). Social factors in psychopathology: Stress, social support, and coping processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 36, 531–572.Google Scholar
Kim, Y.S., Koh, Y., & Leventhal, B.L. (2004). Prevalence of school bullying in Korean middle school students. Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 158, 737–741.Google Scholar
Kim, Y.S., Koh, Y., & Leventhal, B. (2005). School bullying and suicidal risk in Korean middle school students. Paediatrics, 115, 357–363.Google Scholar
Klomek, A.B., Sourander, A., Kumpulainen, K., Piha, J., Tamminen, T., Moilanen, I., & Gould, M.S. (2008). Childhood bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidal ideation among Finnish males. Journal of Affective Disorders, 109, 47–55.Google Scholar
Klomek, A.B., Sourander, A., Niemelä, S., Kumpulainen, K., Piha, J., Tamminen, T., & Gould, M.S. (2009). Childhood bullying behaviours as a risk for suicide attempts and completed suicides: A population-based birth cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 254–261.Google Scholar
Kochenderfer-Ladd, B., & Skinner, K. (2002). Children's coping strategies: Moderators of the effects of peer victimization? Developmental Psychology, 38, 267.Google Scholar
Liu, X.Q., Lu, D.L., Zhou, L.H., & Su, L.Y. (2013a). Relationship between bullying, victimization and depression, suicidal ideation. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 21, 85–87.Google Scholar
Liu, X.Q., Lu, D.L., Zhou, L.H., & Su, L.Y. (2013b). Forgiveness as a moderator of the association between victimization and suicidal ideation. Indian Paediatrics, 50, 685–688.Google Scholar
Malecki, C.K., Demaray, M.K., & Davidson, L.M. (2008). The relationship among social support, victimization, and student adjustment in a predominantly Latino sample. Journal of School Violence, 7, 48–71.Google Scholar
Nakamoto, J., & Schwartz, D. (2010). Is peer victimization associated with academic achievement? A Meta-analytic review. Social Development, 19, 221–242.Google Scholar
Nansel, T.R., Craig, W., Overpeck, M.D., Saluja, G., & Ruan, W.J. (2004). Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviours and psychosocial adjustment. Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 158, 730–736.Google Scholar
Nansel, T.R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R.S., Ruan, W.J., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviours among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. JAMA, 285, 2094–2100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Osman, A., Barrios, F.X., Gutierrez, P.M., Wrangham, J.J., Kopper, B.A., Truelove, R.S., & Linden, S.C. (2002). The Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory: Psychometric evaluation with adolescent psychiatric inpatient samples. Journal of Personality Assessment, 79, 512–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paul, J.J., & Cillessen, A.H. (2003). Dynamics of peer victimization in early adolescence: Results from a four-year longitudinal study. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 19, 25–43.Google Scholar
Pouwelse, M., Bolman, C., Lodewijkx, H., & Spaa, M. (2011). Gender differences and social support: Mediators or moderators between peer victimization and depressive feelings? Psychology in the Schools, 48, 800–814.Google Scholar
Qiao, Y.J., Xing, Y., Ji, C.Y., & Zhang, L. (2009). The prevalence of bullying behaviours among urban middle school students in 18 provinces, China. Chinese Journal of Epidemiology, 30, 444–447.Google ScholarPubMed
Reijntjes, A., Kamphuis, J.H., Prinzie, P., Boelen, P.A., Van der Schoot, M., & Telch, M.J. (2011). Prospective linkages between peer victimization and externalizing problems in children: A meta-analysis. Aggressive Behaviour, 37, 215–222.Google Scholar
Reijntjes, A., Kamphuis, J.H., Prinzie, P., & Telch, M.J. (2010). Peer victimization and internalizing problems in children: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Child Abuse & Neglect, 34, 244–252.Google Scholar
Rigby, K. (2000). Effects of peer victimization in schools and perceived social support on adolescent well-being. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 57–68.Google Scholar
Rigby, K., & Slee, P. (1999). Suicidal ideation among adolescent school children, involvement in bully — Victim problems, and perceived social support. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviour, 29, 119–130.Google Scholar
Rothon, C., Head, J., Klineberg, E., & Stansfeld, S. (2011). Can social support protect bullied adolescents from adverse outcomes? A prospective study on the effects of bullying on the educational achievement and mental health of adolescents at secondary schools in East London. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 579–588.Google Scholar
Salmivalli, C., Lagerspetz, K., Björkqvist, K., Österman, K., & Kaukiainen, A. (1996). Bullying as a group process: Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group. Aggressive Behaviour, 22, 1–15.3.0.CO;2-T>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, G., Liu, J., & Zhang, Y. (2011). Psychosomatic status and related factors of bullied students in junior high schools. Chinese Journal of School Health, 4, 11.Google Scholar
Stadler, C., Feifel, J., Rohrmann, S., Vermeiren, R., & Poustka, F. (2010). Peer-victimization and mental health problems in adolescents: Are parental and school support protective? Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 41, 371–386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turner, H.A., Finkelhor, D., & Ormrod, R. (2010). The effects of adolescent victimization on self-concept and depressive symptoms. Child Maltreatment, 1, 76–90.Google Scholar
Wang, X.D., Wang, X.L., & Ma, H. (1999). Mental health assessment scale: Chinese mental health journal.Google Scholar
Wang, X.Z., Gong, H.L., Kang, X.R., Liu, W.W., Dong, X.J., & Ma, Y.F. (2011). Reliability and validity of Chinese revision of positive and negative suicide ideation in high school students. China Journal of Health Psychology, 19, 964–966.Google Scholar
Yen, C., Huang, M., Kim, Y.S., Wang, P., Tang, T., Yeh, Y., & Yang, P. (2013). Association between types of involvement in school bullying and different dimensions of anxiety symptoms and the moderating effects of age and gender in Taiwanese adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 263–272.Google Scholar
Zhang, W.X. (2002). Prevalence and major characteristics of bullying/victimization among primary and junior middle school children. Chinese Journal of Acta Psychologica Sinica, 37, 387–394.Google Scholar
Zhang, W.X., Wu, J.F., & Jones, K. (1999). Modification of the Chinese version Olweus bullying/victimization questionnaire. Psychological Development and Education, 15, 18–22.Google Scholar
Zimet, G.D., Dahlem, N.W., Zimet, S.G., & Farley, G.K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52, 30–41.Google Scholar