Son Hyewon, Jang Hayun, Park Hansol, Subramanian S V, Kim Jinho
Department of Health Policy and Management, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Interdisciplinary Program in Precision Public Health, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Adolesc. 2025 Apr;97(3):746-757. doi: 10.1002/jad.12450. Epub 2024 Dec 8.
Children from multicultural families in South Korea are at high risk of bullying victimization, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of the challenges they face. This study explores the gendered dynamics of depressive symptoms associated with persistent exposure to bullying victimization among these youths, as well as the role of family support.
This study utilizes data from nine waves of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS), spanning from 2011 (Wave 1) to 2019 (Wave 9). MAPS is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of adolescents with multicultural backgrounds and their mothers. Participants include 1375 families (51.1% girls; grade 4-13). Fixed-effects models were estimated to address the possibility of bias due to unobserved time-invariant confounders. Gender-stratified analyses and interaction models were employed to examine the moderating role of gender and family support.
Depressive symptoms among girls were higher with persistent bullying victimization; however, this association was observed up to two consecutive waves of exposure (an immediate and short-term pattern). In contrast, persistent bullying victimization was associated with a cumulative increase in depressive symptoms up to three or more consecutive waves of exposure in boys (an immediate and cumulative pattern). Moreover, while family support was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms among bullied girls, bullied boys exhibited a similar pattern of a cumulative increase in depressive symptoms regardless of the level of family support.
The study's findings suggest potential considerations for gendered interventions related to mental health outcomes of bullying victimization among multicultural family youth in Korea.
韩国多元文化家庭中的儿童遭受欺凌的风险很高，这凸显了深入了解他们所面临挑战的必要性。本研究探讨了这些青少年持续遭受欺凌与抑郁症状之间的性别差异动态，以及家庭支持的作用。
本研究利用了多元文化青少年面板研究（MAPS）九轮的数据，时间跨度从2011年（第1轮）到2019年（第9轮）。MAPS是一项对具有多元文化背景的青少年及其母亲进行的全国代表性纵向调查。参与者包括1375个家庭（女孩占51.1%；四年级至十三年级）。采用固定效应模型来解决因未观察到的时间不变混杂因素导致的偏差可能性。采用性别分层分析和交互模型来检验性别和家庭支持的调节作用。
持续遭受欺凌会使女孩的抑郁症状加重；然而，这种关联在连续两轮暴露（即时和短期模式）中才会出现。相比之下，持续遭受欺凌与男孩连续三轮或更多轮暴露后抑郁症状的累积增加有关（即时和累积模式）。此外，虽然家庭支持与受欺凌女孩较低水平的抑郁症状有关，但无论家庭支持水平如何，受欺凌男孩的抑郁症状都呈现出类似的累积增加模式。
该研究结果为韩国多元文化家庭青少年欺凌受害心理健康结果的性别干预提供了潜在的考虑因素。
