Major
Psychology
Minor(s)
Gender and Women's Studies
Advisor
Flannery-Schroeder, Ellen
Advisor Department
Psychology
Date
12-2019
Keywords
Mediation; Bullying; Self-Efficacy; Depression
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Abstract
Bullying is one of the most pervasive problems faced during childhood. Bullying victimization has been demonstrated to be strongly associated with numerous mental health outcomes, including depression. Research suggests that self-efficacy may play a role in the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. The present study hypothesized that academic self-efficacy would mediate this relationship. Participants (N=206, Mage = 19.5, 70.4% female) were college students who completed Bullying and Relationship Scale– Revised, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. Regression analyses indicated that the overall regression model was significant (β= .19, t (106) = 6.823, p<.00). Paths between experiences of bullying and self-efficacy (β=- 0.15, p <.01) and self-efficacy and depressive symptoms (β = -0.13,p <.001) were also significant. Additionally, the path between experiences of bullying and depressive symptoms remained significant (β = .17, p<.01), indicating partial mediation. Implications are discussed.