A Large-Scale Longitudinal Study of School Factors as Mediators from Depression and Parental Monitoring to Peer Victimization in Mainland Chinese Middle Schools

The current study longitudinally investigated how personal (depression) and family (parental monitoring) factors affect middle school peer victimization through school factors (academic performance, risky peer influence, and school belongingness) in mainland China. This study relied on large-scale 3-year longitudinal national data from mainland China with a sample of 8,357 middle school students who participated in all three waves. The results of structural equation modeling indicate that parental monitoring in Wave 1 did not predict peer victimization in Wave 3 directly, but it showed a significant indirect impact on peer victimization in Wave 3 through academic performance, risky peer influence, and school belongingness in Wave 2. Depression in Wave 1 was directly associated with peer victimization in Wave 3 and indirectly affected peer victimization in Wave 3 through academic performance, risky peer influence, and school belongingness in Wave 2. Practical implications are discussed.