Bullying victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems in school-aged children: The mediating role of sleep disturbance and the moderating role of parental attachment

Wanjie Tang; Mingxia Chen; Ning Wang; Renyu Deng; Huai Tang; Wenjian Xu; Jiuping Xu

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106064

Bullying victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems in school-aged children: The mediating role of sleep disturbance and the moderating role of parental attachment

Child Abuse Negl. 2023 Apr:138:106064. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106064. Epub 2023 Jan 31.

Authors

Wanjie Tang¹, Mingxia Chen², Ning Wang², Renyu Deng², Huai Tang², Wenjian Xu³, Jiuping Xu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Mental Health Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Department of child and adolescent psychiatry, Institute of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Institute of Emergency Management and Post-disaster Reconstruction, Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² Experimental Primary School affiliated to Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
³ School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: xuwenjian@scu.edu.cn.
⁴ Institute of Emergency Management and Post-disaster Reconstruction, Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: xujiuping@scu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36731288
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106064

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that bullying victimization may be related to internalizing and externalizing problems; however, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unknown. This study explored the mediating role of sleep disturbance and the moderating role of parental attachment.

Methods: A total of 1543 Chinese primary school students (M age = 8.92 years, SD1.7 years; range, 6-12) completed bullying victimization, sleep disturbance, and parental attachment measures, and provided information on their parents' occupations. The parents or guardians (n = 1995) also completed ratings on their children's internalizing and externalizing problems.

Results: It was found that bullying victimization directly affected internalizing and externalizing problems and also influenced sleep disturbance. Regardless of the parent's socioeconomic status, parental attachment was found to moderate the relationship between bullying victimization and internalizing problems.

Conclusions: These findings contribute to understanding the partial mediating mechanism of sleep disturbance in the association between bullying victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems. The protective role of parental attachment proved central to preventing internalizing problems in bullied children. Intervention programs that enhance parental attachment and improve sleep quality could assist in mitigating the impact of bullying victimization on internalizing or externalizing problems.

Keywords: Bullying victimization; Internalizing and externalizing problems; Parental attachment; School-aged children; Sleep disturbance.

MeSH terms

Bullying*
Child
Crime Victims*
Humans
Parents
Peer Group
Sleep