ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1586797
This article is part of the Research TopicBridging the Gap: Physical Manifestations and Mental Health in AdolescentsView all 8 articles
Examining the interplay of childhood abuse, bullying, and bullying victimization in middle school students: A serial mediation analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, China
- 2Chengdu Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- 3Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong, Sichuan, China
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Childhood abuse and bullying are youth problem worldwide, yet the detrimental effects of child abuse is underestimated in China. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between child abuse and bullying and victimization, and to explore the mediating roles of selfesteem, peer relationships, and moral disengagement in the chain between childhood abuse, school bullying, and victimization among junior high school. Through a cross-sectional survey of 1327 students in Sichuan Province, China, the results suggest that childhood abuse significantly predicts both bullying (β = 0.08, p < 0.001) and victimization (β = 0.17, p < 0.001).Meanwhile, the serial mediating effect via self-esteem, peer relationships and moral disengagement between childhood abuse and bullying was 0.0015(95 % CI [0.0003， 0.0029]), the serial mediating effect via self-esteem, peer relationships and moral disengagement between childhood abuse and bullying victimization was 0.0005(95 % CI [0.0000，0.0014].These factors can be used to develop future intervention to prevent bullying and victimization.
Keywords: Bullying, bullying victimization, childhood abuse, self-esteem, peer relationships, Moral disengagement
Received: 03 Mar 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bai, Lang, Yue, Li and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peng Chen, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, China
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