The impact of peer victimization on depression among Chinese rural adolescents: A moderated mediation model

Adolescents with economic disadvantage experience more developmental challenges than their counterparts without economic adversity. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the impact of peer victimization on depression among Chinese adolescents in poor communities in Southwestern China. Besides, we hypothesized that social withdrawal behavior would mediate the linkage between peer victimization and depression, and parent-child relationship was hypothesized to moderate the mediation effect. A total of 3,683 adolescents from three public middle schools in poor rural areas in Southwestern China participated in the present study. Peer victimization, social withdrawal behavior, child-parent relationship and depression were assessed by the Chinese Peer Violence Scale for Children and Adolescents, Problem Behavior Questionnaire, Parent-Child Subsystem Quality Scale, and Centre for Epidemiological Research Depression Scale, respectively. Results showed significant positive relationships between peer aggression and rural adolescents' depression as well as social withdrawal behavior. Social withdrawal was found to partially mediate the linkage between peer aggression and depression among rural adolescents. In addition, mother-child relationship, but not father-child relationship, moderated the path from social withdrawal behavior and depression, which suggests the possible buffer effect of the mother-child relationship in protecting adolescents from the risk of depression. These findings contribute to the existing theories on the impact of peer victimization and depression with particular reference to the poor rural Chinese community. Practically, strategies to reduce peer victimization and social withdrawal and to promote mother-child relationship would help to reduce depression in adolescents.