Cyber Victimization, Traditional Victimization, and Suicidal Ideation: The Role of Left-Behind Status Among Adolescents in Rural China

Although numerous studies have investigated the psychological outcomes of peer victimization, little is known about differences in the negative effects of traditional victimization and cyber victimization, especially among left-behind and non-left-behind adolescents in rural China. We aimed to examine a model explaining how traditional victimization and cyber victimization influence suicidal ideation mediated by emotional distress in rural China, with left-behind status as a moderator. Data were collected via random, multistage, stratified-cluster sampling in schools in a rural region of Hunan province, China. The sample included 697 adolescents in Grades 7-9 (boys = 53.8%). Structural equation modeling and multigroup comparison analysis were performed to test a pre-formulated conceptual model. In the full sample, both traditional and cyber victimization were associated with students' emotional distress, which was also associated with suicidal ideation. Among left-behind adolescents, only traditional victimization was associated with emotional distress and suicidal ideation. For non-left-behind adolescents, both traditional victimization and cyber victimization were significantly associated with emotional distress, and cyber victimization's association with emotional distress was even slightly stronger than traditional victimization's. Our study expands the current understanding of the differential effects of traditional and cyber victimization among subgroups of children. The findings further suggest that the focus should not be solely on left-behind children; the psychological health of non-left-behind children also warrants attention. Additionally, the study provides considerable implications for practice.