NCJ Number
224864
Journal
Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 28 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 528-554
Date Published
November 2008
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between bullying victimization and depression in a predominantly Mexican-American community.
Abstract
The results found that victimization and depression rates to be similar for boys and girls. There was no finding of differences in victimization by grade. Acculturation was not found to be related to either depression or victimization. Most importantly, relational victimization was most strongly related to increased symptoms of depression. This study used a sample of Mexican-American elementary schoolchildren. All measures were available in both English and Spanish that allowed all eligible students to participate. For schoolchildren who are moving beyond the family and forming friendships with peers, victimization that damages those friendships may be particularly harmful, leading to symptoms of depression. Another potential explanation is that Mexican-American children may have a more generally negative attributional style than those of other ethnicities. If that were the case, children might be more prone to interpret their victimization as being due to their own enduring defects (characterological) rather than to external factors (such as being in the wrong place), which might lead to more depressive cognitions. Since Mexican-American elementary schoolchildren experience increased symptoms of depression when they are relationally bullied, the need for antibullying programs to address this type of bullying is clear. Data were collected from 118 third- through fifth-grade students at 4 elementary schools in a small rural school district in the Southwestern United States. Tables, references