Attachment, parenting styles and bullying during pubertal years

Victimization in Childhood Mediates the Association Between Parenting Quality, Stressful Life Events, and Depression in Adulthood

BACKGROUND

Various stressors during childhood and adulthood, such as experiencing poor parenting, abuse, and harassment, have long-lasting effects on depression. The long-term effects of childhood stressors, such as childhood abuse and inappropriate parenting experiences, on adult depression are mediated by personality traits. In the present study, we hypothesized that parental bonding in childhood influences adulthood depression, and that this association is mediated by childhood victimization experiences and negative life event evaluations in adulthood. To test this hypothesis, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling were performed.

METHODS

A questionnaire survey, including Patient Health Questionnaire-9, victimization scale in childhood, Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and Life Experiences Survey was administered to 449 general adult volunteers (age: 41.1 ± 11.7 years; 196 men and 253 women). Multiple variables were analyzed by multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that victimization experiences in childhood affect adulthood depression independently of several other factors. Structural equation modeling showed that the "parental care" subscale of the PBI decreased adulthood depression directly, as well as indirectly through its effects on victimization experiences in childhood and negative life events. On the other hand, the "parental overprotection" subscale of the PBI increased adulthood depression directly, as well as indirectly through its effects on the experience of victimization in childhood and negative life events.

CONCLUSION

The present study indicates that the experience of victimization in childhood is a risk factor of adulthood depression. Furthermore, we found that parenting quality experienced in childhood influences adulthood depression, and that these effects are mediated by the experiences of victimization in childhood and negative life events in adulthood.

The effect of parental style on bullying and cyber bullying behaviors and the mediating role of peer attachment relationships: A longitudinal study

The purpose of the present study was the examination of the longitudinal effect of parental style on short-term changes in conventional and cyber forms of bullying/victimization, and the investigation of the mediating role of peer attachment relationships on this effect. The participants were 861 children and adolescents (52% girls, M_age = 11.72 years) attending Cyprus public institutions. Students provided information during three measurement points. There was a six and a 12 week interval among the three measurement points, respectively. The findings of the study indicated that parenting seems to be a significant predictor of all forms of bullying/victimization, conventional and cyber, in early adolescents, even when accounting for bullying/victimization levels eighteen weeks back. More importantly, results showed that the effect of parental style on bullying forms was mediated by peer attachment relationships. Results are discussed in the light of theoretical and practical implications.

Bullied at school, bullied at work: a prospective study

BACKGROUND

The consequences of childhood bullying victimisation are serious. Much previous research on risk factors for being bullied has used a cross-sectional design, impeding the possibility to draw conclusions on causality, and has not considered simultaneous effects of multiple risk factors. Paying closer attention to multiple risk factors for being bullying can provide a basis for designing intervention programmes to prevent or reduce bullying among children and adolescents.

METHODS

Risk factors for bullying were examined by using questionnaire data collected in 2004 and 2007. In 2004, the participants were aged 14-15 years and 17-18 years in 2007. The baseline questionnaire was answered by 3054 individuals in 2004, and 2181 individuals participated in both rounds. We analysed risk factors for being bullied at the individual and societal level. Information on the social background of the participants was derived from a national register at Statistics Denmark.

RESULTS

Several risk factors were identified. Being obese, low self-assessed position in school class, overprotective parents, low self-esteem, low sense of coherence and low socioeconomic status were risk factors for being bullied at school. Being overweight, smoking, low self-assessed position in class, low sense of coherence and low socioeconomic status were risk factors for being bullied at work. However, most associations between risk factors in 2004 and being bullied in 2007 disappeared after adjustment for being bullied in 2004.

CONCLUSIONS

The strongest risk factor for being bullied was being previously bullied. Our results stress the importance of early prevention of bullying at schools. In addition, attention should be drawn to the role of overprotective parents.