What is the nature of the relationship between Bullying and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in New Zealand adolescents?

Abstract

Bullying is a common phenomenon among young people, with up to 75% of adolescents indicating that they have experienced bullying at least once (e.g. Demaray & Malecki, 2003; Garisch & Wilson, 2010). Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is also relatively common, with up to 50% of adolescents indicating that they have deliberately hurt themselves at some point in their lives (e.g. Ross & Heath, 2002; Garisch, 2010). Bullying and NSSI have been associated in the literature, and bullied adolescents are at increased risk of and report higher rates of NSSI (e.g. Borowsky, Taliaferro & McMorris, 2013). Across the past decade or so, research into bullying and NSSI has gained considerable interest, potentially in response to an increased awareness around the possible negative consequences that both can have. The ‘hot topic’ nature of both has also attracted significant media attention, and there have been several stories in recent years detailing the tragic course of events of a bullied adolescent taking their own life (e.g. Gremore, 2014). However, although we know that bullying and NSSI are related, what has been unclear in the literature thus far is how strong this relationship is.

The overarching aim of this thesis was to investigate the nature of the relationship between bullying and NSSI in New Zealand adolescents. The Experiential Avoidance Model of NSSI (EAM; Chapman, Gratz & Brown, 2006) and the Integrated theory of NSSI (Nock, 2009a) were used to guide this research. These theories propose that interpersonal stressors (e.g. bullying) trigger unwanted negative emotional responses that an individual may become overwhelmed by, resulting in the use of NSSI as a coping strategy.

My first study involved two meta-analyses investigating the strength of the associations between bullying, NSSI and suicidal ideation. Results indicated that the direct relationship between bullying and NSSI/suicidal ideation is relatively weak and that there are likely to be additional factors impacting on whether or not bullied adolescents engage in self-injurious behaviours.

Data for this thesis was collected using the same respondents (12-15 years) at time points one year apart. Study 2a presents cross-sectional responses at Time 1 (N=1037). This study aimed to investigate whether difficulties with emotion regulation (ER) and/or attachment to parents/peers explained some of the association between bullying and NSSI through the use of multiple statistical analyses. Bullied adolescents, especially frequent victims or those reporting multiple forms of bullying, indicated greater NSSI and suicidal ideation, emotion dysregulation and weaker attachment to parents/peers. ER and weaker attachment to parents partially mediated and moderated the association between bullying and NSSI, suggesting that these two variables might buffer against or exacerbate the negative effects of bullying on NSSI.

Study 2b proposes a model of the associations between attachment, ER, bullying and self-injurious behaviours which was examined using responses from T1. This model was re-tested using responses from T2 (N=931) in Study 3a. Results suggested that although these variables are significantly associated with self-injurious behaviours on their own, the cumulative effects of these variables provide greater understanding of self-injurious behaviour. Study 3b involved longitudinal analyses of these associations across time. Results indicated that bullying was predictive of NSSI across time, but the strength of this association was weak.

Overall, the preliminary results from this thesis indicate that the pathway from bullying to NSSI and suicidal ideation or behaviour is not as simple as it is often portrayed (i.e. in the media). Findings provide support for the Integrated theory of NSSI and the EAM, suggesting that attachment to parents and ER may either increase risk of NSSI/suicidal ideation, or protect against engaging in NSSI/suicidal ideation when faced with a stressor, such as bullying. To conclude, overall findings are discussed alongside strengths and weaknesses of this research, applications of findings and future directions.