Exploring post-traumatic stress symptoms in bullied adolescents

Smerdon, Jane (2000) Exploring post-traumatic stress symptoms in bullied adolescents. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

The dissertation explores post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in bullied adolescents. The initial part of the literature review discusses prevalence, gender differences and developmental aspects of bullying. The risk factors of being bullied are explored as well as the subsequent sequelae. The second part of the review discusses the adolescent trauma literature, particularly focusing on the developmental issues and sequelae. Because only a small proportion of individuals experience PTS symptoms, the moderating and mediating factors of developing PTS symptoms are discussed. The final section of the review brings the two bodies of literature together and argues that some bullied adolescents may actually be experiencing PTS reactions.

The empirical study tests the argument proposed in the literature review that bullied adolescents experience symptoms associated with PTS symptoms, exploring the moderating role of social support and mediating role of dissociation. The participants were members of a secondary school (n = 689) who filled in four questionnaires exploring bullying experiences, levels of dissociation and support, and PTS symptoms. The results indicated that those who reported being bullied experienced significantly more PTS and dissociation symptoms that those who reported not being bullied. Over half of those bullied more than once or twice had scores for the Impact of Events Scale which fell in the clinically significant range for PTS symptoms. Dissociation was found to be a mediator between bullying and PTS symptoms but social support was not identified as a moderator. The implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

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