Latent profile transitions in bullying role behaviors and associated mental health problems among Chinese adolescents.

BACKGROUND

Existing research indicates that bullying roles often co-occur in different profiles. However, evidence on how these profiles transition over time and how such transitions relate to later mental health remains limited, especially in Chinese adolescents. This study examined latent profiles and transition patterns of bullying role behaviors and their associations with subsequent psychological outcomes.

METHODS

This study involved a total of 5477 adolescents in China, surveyed on two occasions. Participants completed questionnaires assessing bullying role behaviors at both T1 and T2, anxiety, depression, suicide risk, and non-suicidal self-injury at T2.

RESULT: Three groups were found across two waves of data: predominant defender, moderate across-role involvement, and high across-role involvement. Then, the latent transition analysis found that "predominant defender" group exhibited the highest stability (93.7%), followed by the "moderate across-role involvement" group (74.6%) and the "high across-role involvement" group (70.2%). In addition, individuals transitioning from the "predominant defender" group to the "high across-role involvement" group reported the highest levels of mental health problems at T2.

CONCLUSION

These findings underscore the developmental dynamics of bullying-role patterns and suggest that transitions from defender-oriented patterns to high across-role involvement may be associated with later mental health differences among adolescents.