The Surprising Relationship Between Bullying, Depression, and Dietary Habits
As uplifting as today’s society may seem, bullying lingers on as a significant issue that is only growing in its prevalence. While many individuals have endured the unfortunate consequences that come with being the victim of bullying, others may not be truly aware of what bullying entails. As described in literature, bullying may be defined as the repeated occurrence of abuse between people, where an imbalance of power exists that makes it difficult for victims to defend themselves. Such acts of abuse are associated with numerous adverse consequences for the victim’s health and their overall quality of life. While anyone can be the victim of bullying, the effects may be the most detrimental for adolescents, as such an age group is likely to show higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation as a result. Studies focusing on this phenomenon have found depression to be one of the most significant health issues linked to bullying, and that this may trigger suicidal thoughts, planning, and attempts.
While many studies have focused solely on the emotional and psychosocial consequences of such abuse, the present study sought to expand on current literature by exploring the dietary habits of low- and high-victimized adolescents, as well as rates of depression. Moreover, the researchers were interested in examining the possible moderation effect of dietary preference in the relationship between bullying and depression. It was hypothesized that rates of victimization would be negatively related to healthy eating habits, and positively related to depression. Among victims who follow a healthy diet, lower rates of depression were assumed to occur.
To test the hypotheses, over 500 students (aged 12 to 17 years) from numerous Spanish high schools were recruited and required to complete a battery of questionnaires. Each questionnaire was presented in a paper-pencil format, and had focused on the core areas discussed previously. Bullying victimization was measured using the Multimodal Questionnaire of School Interaction (MQSI), dietary habits were evaluated using the MD Quality Index for children and teenagers (KIDMED), and depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).
As hypothesized, the results revealed a negative association between bullying and dietary habits, with the poorest eating habits among high-victimized adolescents. Moreover, bullying victimization was significantly linked to higher levels of depression across the adolescent sample. When conducting a moderation analyses, high-victimized adolescents showed poor dietary habits, and such habits were significantly associated with rates of depression. Such findings are not surprising, as it has been previously shown that highly-stressed youth (i.e., victims of bullying) tend to develop maladaptive behaviours, preferences, and habits that impact their life in unfortunate ways. With one’s diet, for example, sweet and fatty foods serve as an escape coping strategy that ‘helps’ to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. Although such comfort foods are appealing in the moment, there is an obvious lack of proper nutrition that disrupts the body’s balance.
According to the researchers, the present results emphasize the need for effective anti-bullying strategies in schools. More specifically, interventions ought to be structured in a way that combines classroom rules, lectures that address bullying, activities among students, parental involvement, increased supervision, disciplinary methods, and more. Such multicomponent strategies have been successful, especially when compared to basic classroom curricula or social skills training. Moreover, given the importance of one’s diet, it is important to develop programs aims at promoting proper eating habits. Taken together, such interventions may protect and promote the overall health and safety of youth, and may specifically reduce rates of depression among victims.
Source:
Albaladejo-Blázquez, N., Ferrer-Cascales, R., Ruiz-Robledillo, N., Sánchez-Sansegundo, M., Clement-Carbonell, V., & Zaragoza-Martí, A. (2018). Poor dietary habits in bullied adolescents: The moderating effects of diet on depression. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(8), 1569.
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