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Despite a hypothesized link between family conflict and school bullying perpetration, previous findings on the direct association have been inconsistent. It has been argued that affiliation with delinquent peers may be a potential psychosocial mechanism mediating the relationships between family conflict and school perpetration. However, such a proposition has not been examined employing longitudinal panel data. Using longitudinal panel data (two waves with a 9-month interval) from Hong Kong collected from 424 lower secondary students (grades 7–9), this study examined how affiliation with delinquent peers mediates the relationships between family conflict and adolescent school perpetration. The results of the half-longitudinal mediation model indicated no significant link between family conflict at T1 and school bullying perpetration at T2. However, family conflict at T1 was indirectly linked to school bullying perpetration at T2 through affiliation with delinquent peers. The findings imply that affiliation with delinquent peers mediates the association between family conflict and adolescent school bullying perpetration. The findings provide insights into the future development of policies and interventions to reduce school bullying perpetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the associations between adolescent psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and somatization), school violence, and cyberbullying have been examined using cross-sectional data, little evidence from longitudinal panel data exists to determine the temporal association. A two-wave longitudinal panel data with a 10-month interval were obtained from a random sample of 487 Chinese junior high school students (grades 7–9) in Tianjin in Mainland China. The cross-lagged panel analysis showed that adolescent psychological distress in the first wave of the survey was significantly associated with subsequent school violence against peers and teachers in the second wave but not in the opposite direction. Student psychological distress in the first wave of the survey was not significantly associated with cyberbullying perpetration in the second wave and vice versa. The findings suggested that adolescent psychological distress was a risk factor rather than the consequence of violence against peers and teachers in school. However, the temporal associations between adolescent psychological distress and cyberbullying perpetration were non-significant. These findings were relevant to both sex groups. The findings may imply that potential interventions and policies to prevent students from committing school violence should consider reducing students' psychological distress as one of the core elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]