Associations Between Bullying and Depression Among Students in School Transition

Bullying affects the health and development of children and adolescents. This study examined the relationships between depression and students’ profiles in regard to their involvement with bullying (as victim, bully, or bully victim), among students transitioning to middle school. A total of 408 6th grade students (54.9% girls; mean age = 11.3 years; SD = 0.62 years) from six Brazilian public schools participated in this study. The participants completed the Aggression and Peer Victimization Scale and the Children’s Depression Inventory. Data were analyzed using variance analysis (ANOVA), Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and logistic regression. Bully victim were nine times more likely to be depressive compared with students not involved with bullying (β = 2.246, OR = 9.44, p = 0.002), while victims were six times more likely (β = 1.843, OR = 6.31, p = 0.010). Among girls, depression was significantly correlated with all forms of bullying and victimization (physical, verbal, relational). Among boys, only verbal and relational victimization was significantly correlated with depression. This study’s results contribute to understanding the relationship between depression and bullying during school transition.
O bullying afeta a saúde e o desenvolvimento de crianças e adolescentes. Este estudo examinou as relações entre depressão e os perfis de participação no bullying (vítima, agressor ou vítima-agressora) de estudantes em transição escolar. Um total de 408 estudantes do 6° ano (54,9% meninas; média de idade = 11,3 anos; desvio-padrão = 0,62 anos) de seis escolas públicas brasileiras participaram deste estudo. Os participantes responderam a Escala de Agressão e Vitimização entre Pares e o Inventário de Depressão Infantil. Os dados foram analisados mediante análise de variância (ANOVA), coeficiente de correlação de Spearman e regressão logística. Os resultados indicaram que as vítimas-agressoras foram nove vezes mais propensos a serem depressivas em comparação com os alunos não envolvidos com o bullying (β = 2.246, OR = 9,44, p = 0,002), enquanto as vítimas eram seis vezes mais prováveis (β = 1,843, OR = 6,31, p = 0,010). Entre as meninas, a depressão foi significativamente correlacionada com todas as formas de bullying e vitimização (física, verbal e relacional). Entre os meninos, apenas a vitimização verbal e relacional foi significativamente correlacionada à depressão. Os resultados deste estudo contribuem para entender a relação entre depressão e bullying durante a transição escolar.
Portuguese national funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) within the framework of the CIEC (Research Center for Child Studies of the University of Minho) project under the reference UIDB/00317/2020