Abstract
Objectives
Peer victimization is a salient stressor contributing to self-harm behaviors in children. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying this process are not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the role of depressive symptoms in the relationships between subtypes of peer victimization and self-harm behaviors among children affected by parental HIV using a prospective design.
Methods
Participants in this study consisted of a subsample (N= 521, 6–12 years of age at baseline) of a larger research project on the psychological adjustment of children affected by parental HIV. Children self-reported subtypes of peer victimization including physical, verbal, and relational forms, depressive symptoms, and self-harm behaviors.
Results
Structural equation models showed that verbal victimization, but not physical or relational victimization, was associated with increases in self-harm behaviors over a 24-month period (β = 0.18, p = 0.029). Moreover, the association between verbal victimization and self-harm behaviors was mediated by increases in depressive symptoms (indirect effect = 0.04, 95%CI [0.01, 0.08]), controlling for baseline self-harm behaviors, depressive symptoms, gender, AIDS orphan status, and age. In addition, such a mediation pathway was consistent across gender.
Conclusions
Depressive symptoms might be a psychological mechanism linking verbal victimization to self-harm behaviors among children affected by parental HIV. The findings highlight the importance of detection of depressive symptoms as a potential way to prevent self-harm behaviors among victimized children or those at high risk of experiencing peer victimization such as children affected by parental HIV.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by US National Institutes of Health Grants R01MH076488 and R01NR13466.
Author Contributions
YJ: analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. XL: designed and executed the study and edited the manuscript critically. JZ: designed the study and coordinated data collection. GZ: designed the study.
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The approval for the study protocol was obtained from the Institutional Review Boards at Wayne State University in the United States and Beijing Normal University in China.
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Informed consent was obtained from all children and their caregivers included in the study.
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Jiang, Y., Li, X., Zhao, J. et al. Subtypes of Peer Victimization, Depressive Symptoms, and Self-harm Behaviors Among Children Affected by Parental HIV. J Child Fam Stud 28, 2522–2530 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01352-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01352-5