The Mediating Role of School Adaptation in the Impact of Adolescent Victimization from Bullying on Mental Health: A Gender Differences Perspective

Lin Zhang,&ast; Yuanhang Zhang,&ast; Jin Zhou, Xiaoshuai Zhang, Lei Gao School of Health Management, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lei Gao, School of Health Management, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86130-9171-9592, Email [email protected]: The primary aim of this study is to investigate the mediating role of school adaptation in the impact of adolescent bullying victimization on mental health, as well as the gender differences therein. These findings offer a novel perspective for parents and educators, aiding bullied adolescents in managing and addressing mental health concerns.Methods: The primary data source for this study was the 2020/2021 Adolescent Health Theme Database from the China Population Health Data Center (PHDA). The research sample consisted of high school students from 16 cities in Shandong Province. Descriptive statistics, reliability and validity testing, structural equation modeling, as well as mediation analysis and multiple group analysis were conducted using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0.Results: School adaptation serves as a mediating variable between adolescent bullying and mental health. The model fit indices are as follows: GFI=0.946, AGFI=0.922, RMSEA=0.070, NFI=0.978, IFI=0.979, CFI=0.97. Even when considering gender, the model still demonstrates good fit. School bullying has significant negative effects on the mental health of both male and female victims (p< 0.05). For female victims, the mitigating effect of school adaptation on mental health is slightly lower than that for males (− 2.256). Regarding cyberbullying, male victims face a greater threat to mental health (− 3.234), with a impact of − 0.109 from cyberbullying on male mental health and − 0.065 from school bullying on female mental health.Conclusion: The school is found to mediate between school bullying, cyberbullying, and mental health. Schools may play a greater role in improving female mental health than male mental health. The impact of campus bullying on female mental health is greater than that of cyberbullying, whereas the opposite is true for males. Enhancing adolescents’ school adaptation levels helps mitigate the adverse effects of school and cyberbullying on adolescent mental health.Keywords: adolescents, bullying, school adjustment, mental health