Bullying involvement, psychological distress, and short sleep duration among adolescents

Previous research has found links between involvement in bullying and sleep duration in adolescents. However, little is known about the factors that might mediate these relationships. This study examined the associations between cyberbullying victimization and school bullying involvement (bully, victim, bully-victim) with short sleep duration in a large sample of middle and high school students and tested whether psychological distress mediates these relationships.

Data on 5061 students (49% females; mean age = 15.1 years) from the 2015 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey were used. Participants self-reported their sleep duration and their levels of bullying involvement over the past year. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6 (K6) scale. Covariates in multiple linear regression analyses included age, sex, racial background, socioeconomic status, and substance use.

Being a victim of cyberbullying (β = - 1.179; 95% CI - 0.238; - 0.120) or school bullying (β = - 0.119; 95% CI - 0.190; - 0.049) was associated with short sleep duration. Mediation analyses suggested that psychological distress fully mediates the relationships between being cyberbullied, a school bullying victim or bully-victim with short sleep duration. There was a complementary mediation by psychological distress on the relationship between being a bully at school and short sleep duration.

These results suggest that higher levels of bullying involvement place adolescents at risk of developing higher psychological distress which, in turn, can lead to short sleep duration. Longitudinal research is necessary to confirm the mediating role of psychological distress on the relationship between bullying involvement and short sleep duration among adolescents.