Direct Bullying At School And Depressive Risk In Early Adolescence

Studies show that being bullied during the developmental age is associated with a risk of depression; however, little research has focussed on the link between direct bullying and depressive risk. This study aims to explore, in a suburban at-risk area, the differences between girls and boys in verbal and physical bullying and the differences in the depressive risk. This study also aims to explore whether there is a link between direct female bullying and depressive risk. Three-hundred Italians in early adolescence, selected within a high-risk community, completed the Peer-Victimisation Scale, the Bullying-Behaviour Scale and the Kovacs Children’s Depression Inventory. We used the variance analysis to test for differences between girls and boys regarding depressive risk and verbal and physical bullying. Finally, we used the regression analysis to identify the predictors of depressive risk. Results show that the risk of depression among girls is significantly higher than boys. There were no significant differences between boys and girls with regard to verbal bullying, while physical bullying continues to be higher among boys. The regression analysis has shown that bullying, and not only victimisation, can be predictive of depression risk among girls, but not among boys. Collected data offers empirical evidences to devise interventions based on gender differences to prevent the occurrences of bullying, victimisation and the risk of depression during the developmental stage of early adolescence.