Developmental pathway from child maltreatment to children's bullying: sex difference in the longitudinal dual-process model of self-esteem and depression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bullying is potentially linked to childhood maltreatment, yet distinctions among maltreatment types and their underlying mechanisms remain under-examined.

Objective

This study tested whether emotional and physical maltreatment predict children's bullying perpetration through self-esteem and depressive symptoms, and whether these indirect pathways differ by gender.

Method

In a three-wave longitudinal design spanning approximately 12 months, data were collected at baseline (T1, mid-December, n = 780), 6-month follow-up (T2, mid-June, n = 774), and 12-month follow-up (T3, mid-December, n = 706). Mediation models examined self-esteem and depression as parallel mediators between emotional/physical maltreatment (T1) and bullying (T3). Multi-g

SUBMITTER: Duan X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12634508 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature