Influence of bullying victimization on depressive mood with self-compassion and resilience as mediators.

Abstract

Objectives: With the debilitating impacts of bullying victimization, attempts were made to identify protective factors for its impacts, particularly depression. The attempts were particularly essential in Thailand due to its high reports of victimization. Therefore, the present study proposed a path model to examine the mediating roles of self-compassion and resilience in the association between bullying victimization and depression among Thai adolescents.

Methods: Three hundred and seventy-one Thai junior high school students voluntarily participated in the study. They responded to the measures of bullying victimization, depression, self-compassion, and resilience. The data obtained were analyzed using path analyses.

Results: After modifications, the model fit was demonstrated. Goodness-of-fit indices were fulfilled (e.g., X ²=4.83, df=2, p=0.09). However, only self-compassion, not resilience, mediated the association between victimization and depression. Rather, resilience mediated the association that self-compassion had with depression.

Conclusions: These findings helped bridge gaps in identifying protective factors for the adverse impacts of bullying victimization and suggested therapeutic interventions that promoted self-compassion in those inflicted.