Gender Differences in the Relationship between Peer Victimization and Academic Performance: The Mediating Effect of Depression

Background and purpose: Although extant literature suggests that school bullying has a deleterious effect on adolescents’ academic performance, evidence on whether cyber-bullying has similar effects is scant. Existing literature suggests there are gender differences in the ways that bullying behaviour affects victims and gender differences in academic performance. Moreover, evidence shows that depression is more pronounced with increased victimization. However, we do not know if depression acts as a mediating factor between peer victimization and academic performance, and how the pathways differ by gender.

The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) To test the gender differences in the relationship among specific types of peer victimization (school bullying and cyber-bullying victimization), depression, and academic performance in the path model.  2) To understand the role of depression as a mediator between specific types of peer victimization and academic performance among high school students in the United States.

Methods: This study involved secondary analyses of a nationally representative dataset, the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior System Survey (YRBSS).  The YRBSS was administered to students in grades 9-12, across the United States.  Adolescents aged 14-18 years (n=15,624) were included in the final analysis, in which there were slightly more females (50.1%) than males. Multiple imputation was conducted to handle missing values. Descriptive analyses were conducted to understand the sample. The path model was tested using Mplus 7.0.

Results: The path analysis results showed that both school bullying and cyber-bullying victimization were significantly associated with higher levels of depression, which in turn predicted lower academic performance for both females and males. Furthermore, depression fully mediated the relationship between cyber-bullying victimization and academic performance in the path model for both females and males. However, for males, depression fully mediated the relationship between school bullying victimization and academic performance, but, for females, depression only partially mediated this relationship.

Conclusions and Implications: This study reveals gender differences in the relationships between peer victimization (school bullying and cyber-bullying victimization), depression, and academic performance. Additionally, students who experience cyber-bullying victimization and are not screened or treated for depression symptomologies maybe susceptible to lower academic performance. Therefore, school social workers, psychological services, school counselors, and school administrators should consider concurrently screening for peer victimization and depression to better identify and support students who may struggle academically. Schools should develop comprehensive bullying prevention programs that incorporate both school bullying and cyber-bullying victimization. These interventions should have a mental health component that allows for screening and providing referrals or support for students with mental health symptomologies.