School Bullying, Mental Health, and Wellbeing in Adolescents: Mediating Impact of Positive Psychological Orientations

Abstract

School bullying is a serious psychosocial problem due to its detrimental effects on youth school functioning and adjustment. The present study explored the effects of victimization and perpetration experiences on positive psychological orientations, mental health problems, and subjective wellbeing in high school students. Participants of the study included 456 adolescents studying in two public high schools in a city of Turkey. They were 52.5% (239) female and 47.5% (217) male, and their ages ranged between 13 and 19 years (M = 15.53, SD = 1.13). Findings from the analyses indicated that adolescents in victim and perpetrator groups reported significantly fewer positive psychological orientations, diminished subjective wellbeing, and greater emotional and behavioral problems compared with their non-involved peers. Further outcomes revealed that positive psychological orientations mediated the link between school bullying and mental health problems as well as wellbeing, suggesting the importance of these constructs in developing effective intervention strategies to prevent school bullying and promote youth mental health and wellbeing in school settings.