Bullying victimization and depression among left-behind children in rural China: Roles of self-compassion and hope

Background: Bullying victimization among school-aged children is an important public health issue that may affect their well-being and mental health. However, few studies have been conducted on left-behind children in rural China, who are defined as the children who stay in rural areas for more than six months and have one or both parents migrating to urban areas for work. The mechanisms through which bullying victimization will influence depression have disproportionally adopted a psychopathological perspective, and the protective factors are understudied. Objective: This study aims at investigating the factors that might contribute to breaking up the vicious circle between bullying victimization and developmental problems, focusing on the protective role of self-compassion and hope in the association between bullying victimization and depression. Methods: Using questionnaires, data were collected from a sample of 1091 school-aged left-behind children from west and central China. Results: Compared with rural children living with their parents, left-behind children reported a higher level of bullying victimization. Bullying victimization was positively associated with depression through decreased self-compassion and hope, and self-compassion played a more crucial role than hope in the linkage between bullying victimization and depression. Conclusions: Our study's findings suggest that it is necessary to incorporate self-compassion and hope in mental health prevention and intervention programs targeting left-behind children with bullying victimization experiences.