Bullying Victimization Among Finnish Adolescents and Primary Health Care Visits Mediated by Depression: A Five-Year Follow-Up Study

This study investigated firstly whether bullying victimization was associated with primary health care (PHC) visits due to mental health (MH) problems and secondly whether bullying victimization among adolescent and PHC visits was mediated by depressive and dissociative symptoms. A five-year follow-up data was collected from the sample of N = 669 Finnish adolescents (boys N = 179, (26.8%), girls N = 490, (73.2%)). Generalized linear models showed a significant association between bullying victimization among adolescents and PHC visits due to MH problems. Depressive, but not dissociative symptoms at the baseline mediated the above-mentioned association. Depressive symptoms mediated the association between bullying victimization and mental health services use among adolescents. Interventions for bullying victimization and psychological problems are needed to prevent the future disease burden it may bring to Finland regarding the use of mental health services.