School bullying victimization and self-rated health and life satisfaction: The mediating effect of relationships with parents, teachers, and peers

Abstract

Using a nationally representative survey of urban areas from China collected in 2016, we examine two research questions: (1) how is school bullying victimization associated with self-rated health and life satisfaction; and (2) how do relationships with parents, teachers, and peers mediate those associations? We find that, among students of higher primary, middle, high, and vocational schools, bullying victims are more likely to report poor self-rated health and life satisfaction, regardless of whether the victims experience traditional bullying or cyberbullying. In addition, both traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims are associated with poor relationships with parents, teachers, and peers, which, in turn, partially mediate the effect of bullying victimization on poor self-rated health and life satisfaction. The present study underscores that the impact of adults and peers might be an important mechanism contributing to the health and well-being disparities by school bullying victimization.