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Bullying victimization is a topic of concern for youths, parents, school staff and mental health practitioners. Children and adolescents who are victimized by bullies show signs of distress and adjustment problems. However, it is not clear whether bullying is the source of these difficulties. This paper reviews empirical evidence to determine whether bullying victimization is a significant risk factor for psychopathology and should be the target of intervention and prevention strategies. Research indicates that being the victim of bullying (1) is not a random event and can be predicted by individual characteristics and family factors; (2) can be stable across ages; (3) is associated with severe symptoms of mental health problems, including self-harm, violent behaviour and psychotic symptoms; (4) has long-lasting effects that can persist until late adolescence; and (5) contributes independently to children's mental health problems. This body of evidence suggests that efforts aimed at reducing bullying victimization in childhood and adolescence should be strongly supported. In addition, research on explanatory mechanisms involved in the development of mental health problems in bullied youths is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although common, little is known about the potential impacts of sibling victimization, and how best to ameliorate these. We explored longitudinal associations between sibling victimization and mental health and wellbeing outcomes, and promotive and risk factors that predicted better or worse outcomes following victimization. Data were from >12,000 participants in the Millennium Cohort Study, a longitudinal UK birth cohort, who reported on sibling victimization at age 11 and/or 14 years. We identified potential risk and promotive factors at family, peer, school, and neighborhood levels from age 14 data. Mental health and wellbeing outcomes (internalizing and externalizing problems, mental wellbeing, self-harm) were collected at age 17. Results suggested that over and above pre-existing individual and family level vulnerabilities, experiencing sibling victimization was associated with significantly worse mental health and wellbeing. Having no close friends was a risk factor for worse-than-expected outcomes following victimization. Higher levels of school motivation and engagement was a promotive factor for better-than-expected outcomes. This indicates that aspects of the school environment may offer both risk and promotive factors for children experiencing sibling victimization at home. We argue that effective sibling victimization interventions should be extended to include a focus on factors at the school level.

Background: The psychological effects of war trauma are well-documented, but comparatively little research has focused on the mechanisms underlying intergenerational impacts of war and displacement. Specifically, the effects of armed conflict on family processes such as parenting behavior, and subsequent impacts on child psychosocial outcomes, are less understood., Methods: This study tests a conceptual model linking past war trauma and current displacement-related stressors to maternal mental health, parenting behavior, and child psychosocial problems. Cross-sectional data were collected in 2016-2017 from a sample of 291 Syrian refugee mothers in Lebanon. We used structural equation modeling to examine associations between war trauma, daily stressors, mothers' general psychological distress and post-traumatic stress (PTS), negative parenting, and child psychosocial problems., Results: Exposure to war-related events was directly associated with maternal PTS and general psychological distress, as well as indirectly via daily stressors. Mothers' general psychological distress, but not PTS, was directly associated with negative parenting and child psychosocial difficulties. Negative parenting mediated the association between maternal general psychological distress and child psychosocial problems. Model fit statistics indicate that the measurement and structural models provided a good fit to the data., Conclusions: Results suggest that the adverse effects of past war trauma and ongoing displacement on refugee mothers' general mental health can increase the risk of negative parenting behavior, and in turn contribute to poorer psychosocial outcomes for children. Interventions should focus on psychosocial and parenting support for war-affected caregivers, as well as address structural challenges that debilitate caregiver and child mental health.

We investigated the antecedents and consequences of chronic victimization by bullies across a school transition using a genetically sensitive longitudinal design. Data were from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study (E-Risk), an epidemiological cohort of 2,232 children. We used mothers' and children's reports of bullying victimization during primary school and early secondary school. Children who experienced frequent victimization at both time points were classed as "chronic victims" and were found to have an increased risk for mental health problems and academic difficulties compared to children who were bullied only in primary school, children bullied for the first time in secondary school, and never-bullied children. Biometric analyses revealed that stability in victimization over this period was influenced primarily by genetic and shared environmental factors. Regression analyses showed that children's early characteristics such as preexistent adjustment difficulties and IQ predicted chronic versus transitory victimization. Family risk factors for chronic victimization included socioeconomic disadvantage, low maternal warmth, and maltreatment. Our results suggest that bullying intervention programs should consider the role of the victims' behaviors and family background in increasing vulnerability to chronic victimization. Our study highlights the importance of widening antibullying interventions to include families to reduce the likelihood of children entering a pathway toward chronic victimization.