Being bullied and feeling ashamed: Implications for eating psychopathology and depression in adolescent girls
- 29 August 2015
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Adolescence
- Vol. 44 (1), 259-268
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.08.005
Abstract
The current study examined the associations between peer victimization, body image shame, self-criticism, self-reassurance, depressive symptoms and eating psychopathology in 609 female adolescents. Correlational analyses showed that being the victim of bullying was positively associated with body image shame, self-criticism, with low self-reassurance, depressive symptoms and eating psychopathology. A path analysis indicated that victimization experiences were associated with increased depressive symptoms partially through increased levels of body image shame, and a severe form of self-criticism - hated self. Body image shame and hated-self self-criticism fully mediated the association between victimization experiences eating psychopathology. The tested model accounted for a total of 51% of depressive symptoms variance and for 52% of eating psychopathology variance. These findings may have important intervention and prevention implications, by suggesting that bullying experiences fuel body image shame and consequent self-directed hostility and anger, which, in turn, predict increased depressive symptomatology and eating psychopathology in female adolescents.Funding Information
- Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Supply Chain (SFRH/BD/76858/2011)
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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