Bullying victimisation, coping, and self-harm among adolescents from diverse inner-city London schools: an accelerated cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This study aimed to explore longitudinal associations between bullying victimisation, coping, and self-harm among adolescents living in a diverse, densely-populated urban population in London, United Kingdom.

Method

Data on bullying victimisation, dispositional use of four coping strategies (active, avoidant, distraction, support seeking), and self-harm were drawn from REACH (Resilience, Ethnicity and AdolesCent mental Health), an accelerated cohort study of adolescent mental health in South London. Data was available for 3,060 adolescents aged 11-14 years (M_age = 12.4, 50.6% girls, > 80% ethnic minority groups) who were followed up 12 months' later. Models used a combination of inverse probability weights with multiple imputation. Results are presented as adjusted risk ratios (aRRs), with all analyses adjusting for baseline self-harm, sex, age, free school meals and ethnic group.

Results

Bullying victimisation at baseline was associated with self-harm at one-year follow up (aRR 1.66). Avoidant (aRR 1.36) and distraction (aRR 1.20) coping were associated with increased risk of self-harm. Active (aRR 0.74) and support seeking (aRR 0.78) coping were associated with decreased risk. None of the coping strategies moderated the association between bullying victimisation and self-harm, and no clear sex differences were found for any results.

Conclusions

Findings underline the importance of tackling bullying and promoting coping as part of a wider holistic approach to modifying the impact of adverse experiences. Among victims of bullying, future research should investigate situation-specific measures of coping, as this will better explain how young people cope specifically with this form of childhood adversity.

SUBMITTER: Wilson-Lemoine E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12849072 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature