Bullying and symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescents: A moderated network analysis

Bullying is a risk factor for internalising problems in adolescence. However, few studies have examined how distinct bullying experiences are associated with individual symptoms of anxiety and depression. Although prior research suggests that parent-child relationships may buffer the negative impact of bullying on mental health, moderation effects at the symptom-level remain largely unexplored. This study investigated the associations between multiple bullying experiences and symptoms of anxiety and depression, and whether these associations were moderated by parent-child relationship. We used data from adolescents participating in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The total sample included 21,308 adolescents (mean age = 14.42 years, SD = 0.51; 53% girls), with networks estimated using data from 18,671-18,870 participants. Adolescents reported on bullying victimization (including experiences of teasing, exclusion/isolation, physical aggression, and cyberbullying), anxiety and depressive symptoms, and parent-child relationship quality. We estimated a Gaussian Graphical Model to identify associations between bullying experiences and symptoms of anxiety and depression. We subsequently examined if associations between bullying and symptoms of anxiety and depression were moderated by parent-child relationship quality using a Moderated Network Model. All bullying experiences, except for physical bullying, were linked to at least one symptom of anxiety and depression. Feeling blue was the symptom most strongly related to bullying. Specific patterns emerged: cyberbullying was linked to feeling tense and suddenly scared; exclusion to fearfulness and hopelessness; and being teased to feeling tense and suddenly scared. One edge linking bullying and symptoms was moderated by parent-child relationship quality: the association between bullying and feeling scared was weaker at higher levels of parent-child relationship quality. These findings highlight symptom-specific associations between bullying experiences and symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescence and suggest that supportive parent-child relationships may influence the strength of these connections.