Victim blaming in negative attention bias? The relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms: The role of different negative attention bias and peer support.

BACKGROUND

School bullying significantly affects students' mental health, yet research on its impact on depressive symptoms in college students remains limited. This study examines the link between school bullying victimization and depression, focusing on the roles of negative attentional bias and peer support within the frameworks of the social information processing model and self-verification theory.

METHODS

A total of 5408 college students (aged 16-24) from southern China completed the School Bullying Victimization Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Attention to Negative Information Scale, and Peer Support Scale. A moderated mediation analysis was conducted using Process 4.0 in SPSS.

RESULTS

School bullying victimization was positively associated with depressive symptoms. Negative attentional bias (self) mediated this relationship, whereas negative attentional bias (other) did not. Peer support moderated both the direct effect of bullying victimization on depression and the latter stage of the mediation model.

CONCLUSION

This study elucidates the mechanisms linking bullying victimization to depression from a social information processing perspective and underscores the critical role of peer support in mitigating depressive symptoms among college students.