Exploring the association between bullying and depression symptoms among adolescents in Bangladesh: Findings from nationally representative survey

Yayasan Cahaya Ilmu is a social and religious institution in Lawang Kuta Hamlet, Lembar Village, West Lombok Regency, that fosters 11 adolescent and young adult beneficiaries aged 13–18 years with orphan, double-orphan, and underprivileged family backgrounds. Prior to this program, the beneficiaries had not received structured mentoring in Al-Islam and Kemuhammadiyahan (AIK), consistent with national data indicating high school dropout rates in West Nusa Tenggara. This community service program aimed to improve participants' understanding of Islamic values, cultivate knowledge of Muhammadiyah's ideology, and build noble character and independence. The method adapted a Participatory Action Research approach, implemented over one month through eight scheduled visits (twice weekly), combined with independent daily worship habituation supervised by the foundation's mentor. Results showed improvement across all indicators: the average AIK comprehension score increased from 50.5 to 80.6 (scale of 100); 91% of participants were able to perform prayer according to fiqh standards; 91% showed improvement in Qur'anic recitation quality using the tahsin method and 100% of participants successfully memorized five short surahs. Outputs produced include a two-volume AIK module, Qur'anic storyboards, daily worship monitoring tables, and the establishment of an independent study circle (halaqah mandiri) as a form of program sustainability.

This study aimed to examine the role of self-efficacy and pressure of coach expectations in predicting the performance of adolescent athletes. This study used a cross-sectional survey design involving 142 athletes aged 16–19 years from regional and national sports clubs. Data analysis included Pearson correlation test, independent-samples t-test, and multiple linear regression. The results showed that self-efficacy was positively and significantly associated with athlete performance, while coach expectation pressure was negatively and significantly related to athlete performance. In addition, there were differences in performance by gender, with male athletes reporting higher performance scores than female athletes. When gender was included as a control variable in the regression model, self-efficacy and coach expectations pressure remained significant predictors of athlete performance. Overall, these findings suggest that internal psychological factors and pressures from the sports environment play a role in explaining variations in adolescent athlete performance. This study emphasizes the importance of strengthening self-efficacy and the application of realistic and supportive expectations of coaches in the process of coaching athletes. Further longitudinal research is needed to examine this relationship in more depth.

Experiences of bullying can have significant psychological consequences, including an increased risk of social anxiety. This study aimed to examine changes in social anxiety following Virtual Reality Social Exposure (VRSE) among bullying victims. A one-group pretest–posttest design without a control group was employed with 12 participants. The intervention consisted of three gradual exposure sessions in virtual environments representing social situations. Social anxiety was measured before and after the intervention, and the data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. The results indicated a statistically significant decrease in social anxiety scores following the intervention (p = 0.002), with a reported effect size of 0.974. These findings suggest that VRSE may be a promising approach for reducing social anxiety among bullying victims. However, the absence of a control group and the small sample size limit conclusions regarding its effectiveness and safety. Further studies with larger samples, control groups, and systematic safety assessments are needed.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic created social disruptions, leading to high levels of mental health problems for adolescents. Interpersonal stressors, such as lack of familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination, may have further exacerbated teen mental health issues. Yet, the psychological impact of interpersonal stressors and their interactive effects with high levels of loneliness remains unknown. In this pre-registered study , conducted in November and December 2020 (approximately eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic), we used a diverse sample of adolescents from across 43 U.S. states with elevated depressive symptoms (n = 2,452, ages 13–16) to examine how familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination are concurrently associated with mental health outcomes. Results indicated that perceived discrimination was the strongest standardized correlate across continuous internalizing outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and hopelessness), whereas lack of familial support was the primary correlate of suicidal ideation; if youth reported a lack of familial support, they were over three times as likely to report suicidal ideation. Loneliness significantly moderated the cross-sectional links between lack of familial support and depressive symptoms, as well as perceived discrimination and hopelessness. Simple slope probing demonstrated a distress ceiling effect: interpersonal stressors were most strongly associated with elevated distress among youth reporting low baseline loneliness, whereas youth experiencing high loneliness exhibited consistently elevated distress regardless of stressor exposure. These findings underscore interpersonal stressors and loneliness as high-priority targets for youth prevention and intervention programs, particularly during periods of widespread social disruption.