Exploring the Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms Associated With Bullying Victimization: The Intersection of Gender and Family Support

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Children from multicultural families in South Korea are at high risk of bullying victimization, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of the challenges they face. This study explores the gendered dynamics of depressive symptoms associated with persistent exposure to bullying victimization among these youths, as well as the role of family support.

Methods

This study utilizes data from nine waves of the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS), spanning from 2011 (Wave 1) to 2019 (Wave 9). MAPS is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of adolescents with multicultural backgrounds and their mothers. Participants include 1375 families (51.1% girls; grade 4−13). Fixed‐effects models were estimated to address the possibility of bias due to unobserved time‐invariant confounders. Gender‐stratified analyses and interaction models were employed to examine the moderating role of gender and family support.

Results

Depressive symptoms among girls were higher with persistent bullying victimization; however, this association was observed up to two consecutive waves of exposure (an immediate and short‐term pattern). In contrast, persistent bullying victimization was associated with a cumulative increase in depressive symptoms up to three or more consecutive waves of exposure in boys (an immediate and cumulative pattern). Moreover, while family support was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms among bullied girls, bullied boys exhibited a similar pattern of a cumulative increase in depressive symptoms regardless of the level of family support.

Conclusion

The study's findings suggest potential considerations for gendered interventions related to mental health outcomes of bullying victimization among multicultural family youth in Korea.

1. Introduction

Bullying victimization refers to the repeated, intentional harm inflicted on an individual by one or more others (Awiria, Olweus, and Byrne ¹⁹⁹⁴). Bullying victimization throughout childhood is detrimental because social‐psychological disruptions during this formative period impede the physical and mental development of children in the long term (Umberson, Crosnoe, and Reczek ²⁰¹⁰). It is well‐established in the empirical literature that bullying victimization is associated with negative mental health, particularly depressive symptoms (Moore et al. 2017). Bullied victims experience a sense of powerlessness, self‐blame, and social isolation, which are all strongly associated with the development of depressive symptoms (Brunstein Klomek et al. 2007; Rigby ²⁰⁰³). Given that bullying is motivated by a desire to assert power over others perceived as inferior (Schwartz et al. 2006), researchers have paid close attention to depressive symptoms among minorities such as immigrant‐origin children, with the majority of research conducted in Western countries (Koo, Peguero, and Shekarkhar ²⁰¹²; Peguero ²⁰⁰⁹).

In South Korea (hereafter, Korea), children from multicultural families are a social, cultural, and ethnic minority. Since the 1990s, the expansion of the international marriage market in Korea has prompted a rise in the population of multicultural families (Korean Educational Statistics Service ²⁰²²). As Korea has historically been a monocultural and homogeneous country, children from multicultural families often experience discrimination and social rejection because their cultural, linguistic, and social backgrounds are easily distinguishable from those of Koreans (H. J. Kang ²⁰¹⁶). Recent statistics indicate that children from multicultural families are at higher risk of bullying victimization compared to children with non‐multicultural backgrounds, and report higher rates of mental health problems, including depression (Bahk, Kim, and Khang ²⁰¹⁷; Ministry of Education ²⁰¹⁸). A few recent studies have established a direct link between bullying victimization and the development of depressive symptoms among children from multicultural families in Korea (Choe and Yu 2022).

1.1. Long‐Term Mental Health Consequences of Prolonged Bullying Victimization

Bullying victimization among children from multicultural families tends to be recurring rather than single incidents (Menard and Huizinga 2001). This may be due to the difficulties in altering the power dynamic between the perpetrator and the victim, as well as the complexities of social relationships in school settings (Salmivalli 2010). In addition, the inherent characteristics and societal standing of multicultural families in Korea may contribute to their recurrent victimization. For example, previous studies have identified a number of characteristics that contribute to bullying victimization among children from multicultural families, including their manner of speech, societal biases and stereotypes, and a lack of cultural awareness and understanding within society (Forster et al. 2013; H. J. Kang ²⁰¹⁶). Because these characteristics are difficult to be changed, children from multicultural families are more likely to experience persistent bullying victimization (Seo and Kim 2008). Therefore, when examining whether and how bullying victimization affects the mental health of children from multicultural families, this persistent nature of bullying victimization among children from multicultural families should be considered.

In theory, the long‐term trajectories of depressive symptoms associated with persistent bullying victimization among children from multicultural families may take several different forms. The cumulative risk model, in which the number of exposures is of primary concern and the accumulation of risk corresponds to the severity of an outcome (Morales and Guerra 2006; Trentacosta et al. ²⁰⁰⁸), suggests that repeated exposure to bullying victimization may have an additively detrimental impact on depressive symptoms among children from multicultural families over time (i.e., “cumulative” patterns) (Green et al. 2000; Suliman et al. ²⁰⁰⁹). Persistent exposure to bullying victimization as a traumatic experience may impair socio‐psychological stress coping mechanisms and the body's stress‐response capability (Evans, Li, and Whipple ²⁰¹³), resulting in chronic, long‐term mental disorders such as depression (McEwen ²⁰⁰⁰). Furthermore, persistent peer rejection or isolation may hinder the development and maintenance of adequate psychological resources in children and adolescents, leaving bullied victims vulnerable to depressive symptoms (Killen, Mulvey, and Hitti ²⁰¹³; Santini et al. ²⁰¹⁵).

On the other hand, persistent bullying victimization may be associated with “immediate and sustained” or “short‐term” patterns of depressive symptoms. An immediate and sustained pattern may be observed when bullied children show adaptation to chronic stress related to bullying victimization (Torres, Southwick, and Mayes ²⁰¹¹): depressive symptoms increase in response to an initial exposure to bullying victimization and remain elevated with repeated exposures. The level of depressive symptoms among persistently bullied children may increase to some extent but may not continue to worsen as they undergo psychosocial adjustment over time (Estévez, Murgui, and Musitu ²⁰⁰⁹; Han ²⁰²⁰). Alternatively, when timely coping mechanisms and resilience occur, the association between persistent exposure and bullying victimization can be short‐lived (Sapouna and Wolke 2013). Theoretical mechanisms suggest that children from multicultural families may experience an acute increase in depressive symptoms after being subjected to bullying victimization, but the process of coping and resilience restores them to the person‐specific pre‐exposure level (J. Kim and Fong ²⁰²⁴; Yoo ²⁰²¹).

1.2. The Intersection of Gender and Family Support

Given that the emotional support of family members is one of the primary sources of adaptation and protection for children (E. H. Kim and Nho ²⁰²⁰; Sirin et al. ²⁰¹³), the trajectories of depressive symptoms among bullied children may vary depending on the level of family support. The family provides a secure and reassuring environment in which children can receive emotional and psychological care (Teo, Choi, and Valenstein ²⁰¹³). According to family systems theories, supportive family systems boost individual resilience and stress regulation, fostering more effective coping strategies and reducing the aggravation of depressive symptoms in bullied victims (Bowes et al. 2010; Walsh ²⁰¹¹). In addition, family members may play a significant role in assisting bullied victims to acquire appropriate and timely coping resources, such as mental health professionals, and in providing them with ongoing emotional and material support for adaptation and recovery (Hobfoll 2002). Therefore, the negative impact of persistent bullying victimization on depressive symptoms may last longer in children with less family support (Na and Jeong 2024; Shin, Jeon, and Kang ²⁰²³).

The moderating role of family support in the adverse long‐term trajectories of depressive symptoms among bullied children may be greater for girls than boys. The developmental literature suggest that girls tend to be more relationship‐oriented, to value emotional support, and to actively seek assistance in stressful situations (Zimmermann and Iwanski 2014). In contrast, boys, who are socialized to be more self‐assured and less likely to seek emotional support, may find it more difficult to benefit from family support (Priess, Lindberg, and Hyde ²⁰⁰⁹). In fact, a few studies examining the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms have found that family support is more consistently and strongly associated with reduced depressive symptoms among girls compared to boys. Stadler et al. (2010) observed that while parental and school support were associated with better mental health outcomes for girls experiencing peer‐victimization, only school support showed a similar association for boys. Similarly, Davidson and Demaray (2007) found that the association between bullying victimization and internalizing distress was moderated by teacher, classmate, and school support for boys and parental support for girls.

1.3. The Present Study

Using data from the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS), the present study examines the longitudinal association between persistent exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms among children from multicultural families in Korea. This study extends previous research on the mental health of bullied victims by considering the persistent nature of bullying victimization from a longitudinal perspective (Menard and Huizinga 2001), while focusing on children from multicultural families in Korea, minority children in a homogeneous non‐Western society. This study explores different long‐term patterns of changes in depressive symptoms associated with persistent bullying victimization: cumulative patterns, immediate and sustained patterns, and short‐lived patterns. This study estimates fixed‐effects models to address the possibility of bias due to unobserved time‐invariant confounders, which may include, but are not limited to, genetic predispositions and personality traits (Masten et al. 2009; Sugimura and Rudolph ²⁰¹²), as well as distinct familial and cultural backgrounds (Bornstein 2017; Lereya, Samara, and Wolke ²⁰¹³). In addition, this study investigates whether the association between prolonged bullying victimization and depressive symptoms differs by gender and levels of family support.

2. Data and Methods

2.1. Data

The present study used data from the MAPS. The MAPS is a longitudinal, nationally representative study conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute (NYPI) to examine the growth and development of children from multicultural families (S. Kim ²⁰¹³; NYPI ²⁰¹⁹). The first wave of the MAPS included 1635 children from multicultural families (in fourth grade) and their immigrant mothers from 1000 randomly selected schools across the country. The data collection began in 2011 (Wave 1) and continued annually for the next 9 years until 2019 (Wave 9). In addition to Korean, the questionnaires were also available in 10 different languages: English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Russian, and Thai.

This study utilized nine waves of MAPS data (from 2011 [Wave 1] to 2019 [Wave 9]) on children with immigrant‐origin mothers. Among the 1635 respondents who completed the Wave 1 survey, 69 respondents who came from families consisting of an immigrant‐origin father and a native mother were excluded. 85 respondents were excluded because they were not followed up in Wave 2, preventing calculation of the persistent exposure measure. In addition, 106 respondents were dropped due to missing data on covariates (mostly paternal occupation), resulting in an analysis sample of 1375 respondents (8547 person‐observations for the panel analysis). Table 1 presents summary statistics for the analytic sample of 1375 children (702 girls and 673 boys) at Wave 1. Due to a lack of information, descriptive statistics of depressive symptoms were derived from Wave 2. No statistically significant gender differences in variables used in this study were observed. The average age of the respondents was approximately 10 years. Immigrant‐origin mothers' nationality was as follows: Vietnamese/Filipinos (28.1%), Chinese (26.7%), Japanese (36.1%), and others (9.1%). The average score for depressive symptoms was 1.596 with a standard deviation of 0.528. Although girls, on average, reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than boys (1.623 vs. 1.569), this gender difference was not statistically significant. The mean score for family support was 2.202 with a standard deviation of 0.566.

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics, Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS).

	Total				Girl	Boy
	Mean/%	SD	Min	Max	Mean/%	Mean/%
Dependent variable
Depressive symptoms	1.597	0.528	1.0	4.0	1.623	1.569
Moderating variable
Family support	2.202	0.566	0.0	3.0	2.209	2.194
Time‐constant control variable
Girl	51.1%		0.0	1.0	100%	0%
Maternal country of origin
Vietnam/Philippines	28.1%		0.0	1.0	26.9%	29.3%
China	26.7%		0.0	1.0	26.2%	27.2%
Japan	36.1%		0.0	1.0	37.2%	35.1%
Others	9.1%		0.0	1.0	9.7%	8.5%
Time‐varying control variable
Age	9.972	0.345	9.0	12.0	9.973	9.970
Maternal age	40.429	5.215	21.0	60.0	40.370	40.490
Paternal age	46.208	4.538	32.0	71.0	46.210	46.207
Maternal educational attainment
< High school	11.3%		0.0	1.0	12.0%	10.7%
High school graduate	46.6%		0.0	1.0	46.9%	46.4%
Associate degree	25.7%		0.0	1.0	25.5%	25.9%
Bachelor's degree	15.7%		0.0	1.0	15.1%	16.3%
Postgraduate degree	0.7%		0.0	1.0	0.6%	0.7%
Paternal educational attainment
< High school	30.8%		0.0	1.0	29.7%	31.9%
High school graduate	52.6%		0.0	1.0	54.5%	50.6%
Associate degree	6.7%		0.0	1.0	6.2%	7.2%
Bachelor's degree	9.1%		0.0	1.0	8.6%	9.6%
Postgraduate degree	0.9%		0.0	1.0	1.0%	0.7%
Maternal occupational status
Management/professional	22.3%		0.0	1.0	21.1%	23.6%
Service/Business/Others	29.4%		0.0	1.0	29.3%	29.4%
Unemployed/unclassified	48.3%		0.0	1.0	49.6%	47.0%
Paternal occupational status
Management/professional	17.2%		0.0	1.0	16.7%	17.7%
Service/Business/Others	63.6%		0.0	1.0	64.9%	62.3%
Unemployed/unclassified	19.2%		0.0	1.0	18.4%	20.1%
Log of family income	5.250	0.633	0.0	7.5	5.237	5.264
Married	99.3%		0.0	1.0	99.1%	99.4%
Household size	4.708	1.169	2.0	10.0	4.764	4.651
Place of residence
Large city	26.2%		0.0	1.0	25.4%	27.0%
Small city	45.2%		0.0	1.0	44.3%	46.2%
Rural area	28.6%		0.0	1.0	30.3%	26.8%
Observations	1375				702	673

Note: Descriptive statistics for all variables, with the exception of depressive symptoms (Wave 2) are based on Wave 1.

The NYPI granted approval for the MAPS study and obtained written consent from all participants. This study was exempt from ethical review because this study is based on a secondary analysis of de‐identified publicly available data.

2.2. Variables

2.2.1. Dependent Variable

The measure of depressive symptoms was derived from the Korean adaptation of the Symptom Checklist‐90‐Revised (SCL‐90‐R), which is a modified version of the original SCL‐90‐R scale developed by Derogatis (1983). Depressive symptoms were measured based on student's responses to the following statements: (1) I do not have much energy; (2) I feel unhappy or sad and depressed; (3) I have many worries; (4) I want to die; (5) I cry frequently; (6) I often think that something is wrong because of me; (7) I feel lonely; (8) I am not interested in anything; (9) I do not think the future is hopeful; and (10) I have a hard time. Students rated each item on a 4‐point Likert‐type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). To create a composite score of depressive symptoms, we averaged the responses of students to the survey items (Cronbach's α = 0.91).

2.2.2. Independent Variable

Persistent exposure to bullying victimization was coded based on the experience of bullying victimization throughout waves. Every year, students were asked to report the frequency of the following types of bullying victimization that they had experienced during the semester (H. Lee and Kim ²⁰⁰¹): (1) I was ostracized by other students; (2) I was slandered, bullied, and teased by other students; (3) I was deliberately ignored by other students; (4) I was beaten, kicked, and threatened by other students; (5) Because other students spread false rumors about me, my friends dislike me; and (6) I was harassed or teased by other students because of my physical characteristics or appearance. Possible responses included: never; it happened 1−2 times a month; it happened 1−2 times a week; and it happened almost every day. Following the previous studies (Choi, Kruis, and Lee ²⁰²²; Son, Ahn, and Kim ²⁰²⁴), we created a binary measure of bullying victimization with a value of 1 for those who reported at least “1−2 times a month” and a value of 0 for those who reported “never” (Cronbach's α = 0.85).

The persistent exposure to bullying victimization was operationalized as the number of consecutive waves during which a respondent experienced bullying victimization. To determine the extent of persistent bullying victimization at a given wave, information regarding bullying victimization from previous waves was required. For example, bullying victimization experiences at Waves 1 and 2 were required to determine whether a respondent was persistently bullied by Wave 3. In this regard, although Wave 1 data were used to calculate the persistent exposure to bullying victimization for subsequent waves, Wave 1 observations were excluded from the analysis due to a lack of data in earlier waves. For those who skipped a wave during the study period, persistent exposure to bullying victimization was measured upon reentry to the survey, regardless of previous experiences. To obtain an accurate measure of persistent exposure, at least one wave of no bullying victimization had to precede consecutive waves of bullying victimization (Bentley, Baker, and Mason ²⁰¹²). Due to the low prevalence, we combined cases with three or more waves of persistent exposure. For those who experienced bullying victimization consistently throughout the observed period (i.e., all‐time victims), the persistent measure was set to a constant.

2.2.3. Moderating Variable

Family support was measured based on the modified version of the Social Support Appraisal Scale (Dubow and Ullman 1989). In the MAPS, family support was assessed by the following items: (1) My family helps each other a lot; (2) My family understands me well; (3) My family shares what we have with each other; (4) My family gives me strength and courage when I have a hard time; (5) My family listens to my thoughts and words well; (6) My family thinks of me as an important person; (7) My family cares about me. Students rated each item on a 4‐point Likert‐type scale ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 3 (strongly agree). To create a composite score of family support, we averaged the responses of students to the survey items (Cronbach's α = 0.94).

2.2.4. Control Variables

The empirical model of this study included an extensive set of covariates that may be concurrently correlated with bullied children's prolonged exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Time‐constant covariates consisted of gender and mother's country of origin (Vietnam/Philippines, China, Japan, and others). Time‐varying covariates included age, maternal age, paternal age, maternal educational attainment, paternal educational attainment (< high school, high school graduate, associate degree, bachelor's degree, postgraduate degree), maternal occupational status (management/professional, service/business/other, and unemployed/unclassified), paternal occupational status (management/professional, service/business/other, and unemployed/unclassified), log of monthly household income, current marital status (currently married or not), household size, and place of residence (large city, a small city, and a rural area). Sociodemographic factors such as parental education, occupation, and family structure have been consistently shown to be associated with children's mental health outcomes (Reiss 2013). While we initially included maternal and paternal age in our models due to their potential association with increased risk of mental health issues in children (Quon and McGrath ²⁰¹⁴), these variables were ultimately omitted from the final analysis due to collinearity with time.

2.3. Analytical Strategy

Conventional ordinary least squares models are susceptible to the possibility of bias arising from pre‐existing individual characteristics that are concurrently associated with both bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. To address this methodological challenge, this study utilized longitudinal data to estimate fixed‐effects models. Fixed‐effects models rely on within‐person variation to wipe out all stable observed and unobserved individual‐level heterogeneity, and therefore, reduce the concern that potential time‐invariant confounders may confound the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms (Allison 2009). The following form represents our fixed‐effects model:

$$y_{\mathit{it}}=\alpha +{\beta }_1{\left(Bullying victimization for one wave\right)}_{\mathit{it}}+{\beta }_2{\left(\mathit{Bullying}\mathit{ }\mathit{victimization}\mathit{ }\mathit{for}\mathit{ }\mathit{2}\mathit{ }\mathit{consecutive}\mathit{ }\mathit{waves}\right)}_{\mathit{it}}+{\beta }_3{\left(Bullying victimization for 3 or more consecutive waves\right)}_{\mathit{it}}+{\mathit{Z}}_{\mathit{it}}\delta +v_i+{\epsilon }_{\mathit{it}}$$ (1)

where $y_{\mathit{it}}$ is depressive symptoms of the individual i at time t. The $\beta$ coefficients capture within‐person change in depressive symptoms associated with within‐person change in persistent bullying victimization. The reference group comprises observations with no bullying victimization for two consecutive waves. The vector ${\mathit{Z}}_{\mathit{it}}$ represents a set of time‐varying covariates. $v_i$ represents fixed effects that absorb all time‐constant characteristics. ${\epsilon }_{\mathit{it}}$ is the idiosyncratic error term. Robust standard errors were used for all analyses.

To gauge the extent to which individual‐level heterogeneity confounds the association between persistent exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms, we present conventional pooled ordinary least squares estimates and random‐effects estimates for comparison. As opposed to fixed‐effects models that treat $v_i$ as a set of fixed constants, random‐effects models treat $v_i$ as random variables. The results from Hausman specification test (p < 0.001), however, suggest the violation of the assumption of the random‐effects model regarding the correlation between $v_i$ and ${\epsilon }_{\mathit{it}}$ (Vaisey and Miles 2017). Accordingly, fixed‐effects estimates were favored over random‐effects estimates.

To examine potential gender heterogeneity in the relationship between persistent bullying victimization and depressive symptoms, we stratified all analyses by gender. Then, we investigated the potential moderating role of family support by fitting an interaction model in which the key independent variable, persistent exposure bullying victimization, is interacted with the moderating variable, family support.

3. Results

Table 2 provides the results of the association between persistent exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Columns 1 and 2 present pooled ordinary least squares and random‐effects results, whereas Column 3 presents fixed‐effects results. Columns 4−5 show fixed‐effects results by gender. As shown in Column 1, those who experienced bullying victimization are more likely to have higher levels of depressive symptoms than those who did not experience bullying victimization for two consecutive waves (bs = 0.401, 0.461, and 0.567). Despite some attenuation (18−26%), random‐effects estimates indicate a positive association between persistent bullying victimization and depressive symptoms (Column 2). However, pooled ordinary least squares and random‐effects results should be interpreted with caution due to the possibility of omitted variable bias.

Table 2.

Longitudinal association between persistent exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms.

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms
Sample	Total	Total	Total	Girl	Boy
Estimation model	POLS	RE	FE	FE	FE
Time‐constant covariates	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Time‐varying covariates	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bullying victimization (ref: No exposure for 2 consecutive waves)
One wave	0.401***	0.318***	0.278***	0.310***	0.248***
	(0.024)	(0.026)	(0.027)	(0.041)	(0.035)
2 waves	0.461***	0.343***	0.277***	0.361***	0.212**
	(0.052)	(0.049)	(0.049)	(0.072)	(0.064)
3+ waves	0.567***	0.467***	0.377***	0.259	0.549***
	(0.070)	(0.098)	(0.106)	(0.145)	(0.137)
p value for coefficient of 2 waves = coefficient of 3+ waves	0.219	0.204	0.337	0.459	0.013
N(Observations)	8547	8547	8547	4376	4171
N(Individuals)	1375	1375	1375	702	673

Note: Robust standard errors are shown in parentheses. All models include survey year dummy variables. Time‐constant covariates include gender and mother's country of origin. Time‐varying covariates include age, maternal age, paternal age, maternal educational attainment, paternal educational attainment, maternal occupational status, paternal occupational status, log of family income, current marital status, household size, and place of residence.

Abbreviations: FE, fixed effects; POLS, pooled ordinary least squares; RE, random effects.

^* p < 0.05

^** p < 0.01

^*** p < 0.001.

In the preferred fixed‐effects models (Column 3), attenuation in the estimated coefficients of persistent bullying victimization (31%−40%) suggests part of the observed associations is driven by unobserved confounders at the individual level. That said, the association is robust to controlling for unobserved individual‐level heterogeneity (bs = 0.278, 0.277, and 0.377). The estimated coefficients suggest an immediate (b = 0.278 for one wave) and sustained (b = 0.277 for two consecutive waves and b = 0.377 for three consecutive waves) association between exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Although the coefficient of three consecutive waves appears to be larger than that of two consecutive waves, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.337), suggesting no cumulative pattern.

When the analyses were stratified by gender, however, a different pattern of the associations was observed. In Column 4, the level of depressive symptoms among girls increases as bullying victimization persists; however, this increase is limited to the two consecutive waves of exposure (bs = 0.310 and 0.361). In contrast, persistent exposure to bullying victimization was associated with a cumulative increase in depressive symptoms in boys (bs = 0.248, 0.212, and 0.549). The statistically significant difference between the coefficients of two and three consecutive waves provides support for the cumulative pattern (p = 0.013). In sum, we observed an immediate and short‐term pattern for girls, and an immediate and cumulative pattern for boys.

In Table 3, we investigate the role of family support in the relationship between persistent bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. In the total and male samples (Columns 1 and 3), we found no statistically significant interaction terms, suggesting that the within‐person trajectories of depressive symptoms in relation to persistent bullying victimization do not vary by levels of family support. However, the result of Column 2 suggests that the within‐person trajectories of depressive symptoms for bullied girls differ depending on levels of family support. More specifically, depressive symptoms levels for three consecutive waves of exposure to bullying victimization were lower when family support levels were higher (b = −0.192).

Table 3.

Moderating role of family support in longitudinal association between persistent exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms.

	(1)	(2)	(3)
	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms	Depressive symptoms
Sample	Total	Girl	Boy
Estimation model	FE	FE	FE
Time‐constant covariates	No	No	No
Time‐varying covariates	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bullying victimization (ref: No exposure for 2 consecutive waves)
One wave	0.278**	0.325**	0.234
	(0.089)	(0.113)	(0.143)
2 waves	0.299+	0.237	0.305
	(0.154)	(0.213)	(0.229)
3+ waves	0.528**	0.482*	0.771**
	(0.178)	(0.208)	(0.282)
Family support	−0.283***	−0.286***	−0.277***
	(0.015)	(0.021)	(0.021)
Interaction term
One wave $\times$ Family support	−0.014	−0.019	−0.008
	(0.041)	(0.053)	(0.065)
2 waves $\times$ Family support	−0.027	0.044	−0.059
	(0.078)	(0.107)	(0.115)
3+ waves $\times$ Family support	−0.130	−0.192*	−0.145
	(0.081)	(0.087)	(0.129)
N (Observations)	8547	4376	4171
N (Individuals)	1375	702	673

Note: Robust standard errors are shown in parentheses. All models include survey year dummy variables. Time‐constant covariates include gender and mother's country of origin. Time‐varying covariates include age, maternal age, paternal age, maternal educational attainment, paternal educational attainment, maternal occupational status, paternal occupational status, log of family income, current marital status, household size, and place of residence.

Abbreviations: FE, fixed effects.

^* p < 0.05

^** p < 0.01

^*** p < 0.001.

To facilitate interpretation of the moderating role of family support, we plotted predicted values of depressive symptoms associated with persistent bullying victimization by levels of family support (Figure 1). As shown in the left panel, trajectories of depressive symptoms for bullied girls are different according to levels of family support. In the case of low family support, persistent exposure to bullying victimization is associated with a cumulative increase in depressive symptoms (family support = 1). In contrast, higher levels of family support are associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms (family support = 4). As shown in the right panel, bullied boys exhibit a similar pattern of increasing depressive symptoms in relation to persistent victimization, regardless of the level of family support.

Figure 1.

Trajectories of depressive symptoms relative to persistent exposure to bullying victimization, by family support.

4. Discussion

Bullying victimization during childhood is associated with long‐term mental health outcomes. As a cultural and ethnic minority in Korea, children from multicultural families are particularly vulnerable to persistent bullying victimization due to their distinguishable cultural backgrounds and long‐standing societal stereotypes toward ethnic minorities (H. Park et al. ²⁰²⁴; Son et al. ²⁰²⁴). Although the relationship between bullying victimization and children's depressive symptoms is well‐documented in a substantial body of empirical literature (Moore et al. 2017), little is known about whether persistent exposure to bullying victimization is associated with depressive symptoms among children from multicultural families in Korea. This study examined the association between persistent exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms among children from multicultural families, while exploring how this relationship may differ by gender and levels of family support.

Consistent with previous research on the mental health of bullied victims (Brunstein Klomek et al. 2007; Jang et al. ²⁰²⁴; Rigby ²⁰⁰³), we found that bullying victimization is significantly associated with an increase in depressive symptoms among children from multicultural families. Our preferred fixed‐effects estimates revealed that, despite some attenuation, the association between persistent exposure to bullying victimization and depressive symptoms remains robust even after adjusting for unobserved time‐invariant individual‐level heterogeneity. We found evidence of cumulative pattern of bullying victimization among boys, with an immediate and cumulative increase in depressive symptoms over time. This result is consistent with the idea that cumulative traumatic experiences such as bullying and racial discrimination have lasting negative psychological impacts (Green et al. 2000; Priest et al. ²⁰¹⁹; Suliman et al. ²⁰⁰⁹; Wallace, Nazroo, and Bécares ²⁰¹⁶). However, for girls, repeated exposure to bullying victimization increased their depressive symptoms to some extent, but this upward trend was short‐lived. Given the theoretical mechanisms underlying coping and resilience processes (Sapouna and Wolke 2013; Schetter and Dolbier ²⁰¹¹), this gender gap suggests that girls may have possessed or used more beneficial resources than boys to cope with and recover from psychological harm caused by persistent bullying victimization.

The gendered mechanisms behind how victimized children respond to family support can explain the differential trajectories of depressive symptoms found in our study. Family support is a well‐established source of adaptation and resilience for bullied victims (Sirin et al. 2013). Previous research has suggested that there are gender differences in coping strategies and help‐seeking behaviors, with girls being more likely than boys to seek and receive emotional support from their families when exposed to stressful situations (Priess, Lindberg, and Hyde ²⁰⁰⁹; Zimmermann and Iwanski ²⁰¹⁴). Consistent with this line of research, our study found that family support was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms resulting from persistent bullying victimization among girls. However, we found no evidence of a moderating role of family support among boys. For boys, a similar pattern of increasing depressive symptoms was observed regardless of the level of family support received.

This study has a few limitations that should be acknowledged. First, there may be reporting bias as our key independent variable was measured by self‐reported experience of bullying victimization. Prior evidence of bullying literature has documented that victims, particularly from ethnic minority groups, are likely to underreport their experiences of victimization (Lai and Kao 2018). Therefore, the association between persistent bullying victimization and depressive symptoms reported in this study may be underestimated. Second, although we included individuals who were continuously bullied during the entire study period (i.e., all‐time victims) in our study, they did not contribute to our estimates of the impact of persistent bullying victimization due to the lack of exposure duration information. Therefore, our findings should be considered conservative, as the estimates may be biased downward. Third, despite several strengths of fixed‐effects models, such as controlling for unobserved time‐invariant confounders), there is still a possibility of omitted variable bias: unobserved time‐varying confounders may lead to bias in our estimates (Arnett 2000).

Despite the limitations mentioned above, this study has several strengths. First, by using longitudinal data, we were able to go beyond capturing a single point in time and estimate trajectories of depressive symptoms associated with persistent bullying victimization. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to operationalize persistent bulling victimization and estimate its longitudinal association with depressive symptoms among children from multicultural families in Korea. Second, our findings highlight the crucial role of family support in moderating the psychological consequences of continued bullying victimization, especially for girls (Davidson and Demaray 2007; Stadler et al. ²⁰¹⁰). Third, by employing fixed‐effects models, this study overcame methodological challenges in estimating the relationship between persistent bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Specifically, we controlled unobserved individual‐level heterogeneity, such as cultural backgrounds and personalities, by exploiting within‐individual variations (Bornstein 2017; Sugimura and Rudolph ²⁰¹²).

The findings of this study have several policy implications for addressing bullying of multicultural students in South Korea. Efforts regarding bullying victimization might consider factors associated with repeated victimization among ethnic minorities. Given the persistent nature of bullying experiences among children from multicultural families, interventions should address the broader societal context contributing to this issue. School‐level interventions, such as the Eoullim Program (C. S. Lee and Yang ²⁰¹⁷), may effectively reduce prejudice and foster inclusivity by enhancing cultural diversity awareness and promoting multiculturalism among all students (Grant and Ham 2013; H. J. Park, Park, and Kim ²⁰²³). The existing multicultural education support plan of the Ministry of Education provides a foundation for this but could be expanded to address bullying of multicultural students more specifically (Ministry of Education ²⁰²³). For girls, our findings suggest that higher levels of family support systems are associated with lower psychological distress. Mental health programs for bullied female victims could aim to foster a supportive family climate (Sippel et al. 2015), potentially through expanded family counseling services provided by Multicultural Family Support Centers (B. Kang ²⁰¹²). For boys, who did not show the same association between family support and reduced depressive symptoms, alternative intervention strategies should be explored, such as peer support groups, mentoring programs, or tailored school‐based counseling services (Flores Morales, Kim, and Fong ²⁰²²; Ttofi and Farrington ²⁰¹¹).

The present study provides insights into the enduring associations between persistent bullying victimization and mental health outcomes among children from multicultural families in Korea. The results indicate that persistent exposure to bullying victimization was associated with different patterns of depressive symptoms by gender: a long‐term increase for boys, while a short‐lived increase for girls. This gender difference suggests that girls may utilize more effective coping resources than boys in dealing with persistent bullying victimization. Specifically, our examination of family support as a potential coping resource revealed gender differences in how family support relates to depressive symptoms in the context of persistent bullying. Depressive symptoms in bullied girls increased only in the short term when family support was stronger, while boys exhibited a continuous increase in depressive symptoms regardless of family support levels. These findings underscore the need for gender‐specific approaches in addressing bullying victimization. Strengthening family support systems may be particularly relevant for girls, while alternative intervention strategies should be explored for boys, who did not exhibit the same association between family support and reduced depressive symptoms.

Ethics Statement

Ethics approval was not sought for this work because it used publicly available, anonymized data.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the National Youth Policy Institute. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available at www.nypi.re.kr/archive with the permission of the National Youth Policy Institute.