Who is more likely to be bullied? Assessing the impact of person-group dissimilarity on bullying victimization among Chinese adolescents

To identify adolescents who are more vulnerable to be bullied is of utmost importance, particularly in a society that traditionally has been viewed as embodying a collectivist culture. This study explores the associations between individual person-group dissimilarity based on four attributes (body shape, academic performance, sexual orientation, and family economic status) and bullying victimization and tests the multiple mediating effects of popularity and perceived friends’ support. A total of 3,524 adolescents from 11 secondary schools in China participated in this study. The results showed that adolescents with more person-group dissimilarities reported more victimization from school bullying. Popularity and perceived friends’ support mediated the relationship between person-group dissimilarities and bullying victimization. This study illuminates the detrimental aspects of collectivism and offers valuable insights for educators on how to deal with bullying effectively.