Why Do Victimized Youth Feel Lonely? Cognitive Flexibility as a Mediator and Social Support as a Contextual Moderator

Guided by the cognitive-behavioral model of loneliness and the healthy context paradox, we tested whether cognitive flexibility mediates the link between peer victimization and loneliness in adolescents and whether social support moderates this pathway.

Using a two-wave, short-term prospective design, we followed 833 Chinese first-year junior middle school students (M_age = 12.22, SD = 0.43; 49.1% male). At both waves, students completed validated measures of peer victimization, cognitive flexibility, loneliness, and perceived social support. Analyses included descriptives, mediation, and moderated mediation with bootstrap tests, adjusting for demographics and baseline outcomes.

T1 peer victimization predicted lower cognitive flexibility, which in turn predicted higher T2 loneliness, supporting mediation. Social support moderated these associations: the indirect effect was significant only under high support; victimization was negatively associated with cognitive flexibility only when support was high.

Cognitive flexibility may represent one modest and potentially modifiable cognitive process to be examined in future school-based prevention and intervention research. Findings caution against assuming uniform benefits of global support. Schools should combine anti-bullying efforts with skills for flexible thinking and tailor supports to avoid inadvertent harm, ensuring equitable access.

Cognitive flexibility partially mediated victimization's effect on loneliness. Unexpectedly, high social support amplified adverse effects, underscoring nuanced, context-sensitive school strategies.