Midgett Aida, Doumas Diana M
Boise State University.
School Ment Health. 2019 Sep;11(3):454-463. doi: 10.1007/s12310-019-09312-6. Epub 2019 Jan 25.
It is well documented that bullying victimization and perpetration are associated with mental health problems, including anxiety and depressive symptoms. Although the majority of students report witnessing bullying as bystanders, very few studies have investigated if negative consequences associated with bullying extend beyond targets and perpetrators to students who are bystanders. The present study examined the association between witnessing bullying and anxiety and depressive symptoms among middle school students. Middle school students (N = 130; grades 6 through 8) completed questionnaires assessing experiences as a bystander, target, and perpetrator of bullying, as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine if bystander status was associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms over and above the effects of victimization and perpetration and to examine bullying victimization and perpetration as moderators of these relationships. Analyses indicated being a bystander was associated with higher levels of anxiety (β = .40, p < .001) and depressive symptoms (β = .37, p < .001) even after controlling for frequency of being a target or perpetrator of bullying. Bystanders who were also targets of bullying reported the highest level of depressive symptoms; however, being a target of bullying did not moderate the relationship between being a bystander and anxiety. Furthermore, bullying perpetration did not moderate the relationship between being a bystander and anxiety or depressive symptoms. Findings indicate witnessing bullying uniquely contributes to anxiety and depressive symptoms for middle school students. For student bystanders who are also targets of bullying, depressive symptoms may be particularly high due to co-victimization or re-victimization experienced when witnessing bullying.
有充分的文献记载，受欺凌和欺凌他人与心理健康问题相关，包括焦虑和抑郁症状。尽管大多数学生报告称作为旁观者目睹过欺凌行为，但很少有研究调查与欺凌相关的负面后果是否会从受害者和欺凌者扩展到旁观者学生。本研究考察了中学生目睹欺凌行为与焦虑和抑郁症状之间的关联。中学生（N = 130；6至8年级）完成了问卷，评估作为欺凌行为的旁观者、受害者和实施者的经历，以及焦虑和抑郁症状。进行了分层回归分析，以确定旁观者身份是否在受害和实施欺凌行为的影响之外与焦虑和抑郁症状相关，并检验欺凌受害和实施行为作为这些关系的调节因素。分析表明，即使在控制了成为欺凌行为目标或实施者的频率之后，作为旁观者仍与更高水平的焦虑（β = .40，p < .001）和抑郁症状（β = .37，p < .001）相关。同时也是欺凌行为目标的旁观者报告的抑郁症状水平最高；然而，成为欺凌行为的目标并没有调节旁观者身份与焦虑之间的关系。此外，欺凌行为的实施并没有调节旁观者身份与焦虑或抑郁症状之间的关系。研究结果表明，目睹欺凌行为对中学生的焦虑和抑郁症状有独特的影响。对于同时也是欺凌行为目标的学生旁观者来说，由于在目睹欺凌行为时经历了共同受害或再次受害，抑郁症状可能会特别严重。
