Bullying, anger and depression in Mexican adolescents: A preliminary study of the effectiveness of an intervention.

Abstract

This study's aim was to expose the general characteristics and particularities of bullying, and to know its relationship with the variables of anger and depressive symptoms. This led to the design, implementation and evaluation of an intervention program designed to weaken these symptoms. Participants were 1,050 secondary school students aged 12-16 years old recruited from Yucatan, Mexico. Anxiety and depression levels were assessed in the participants, as well as psychopathic traits, and finally the presence of aggression in the school environment. Based on the results, a 15-session cognitive-behavioral psychotherapeutic intervention was designed and carried out with those students who were either victims of bullying or bullies (n = 28). Results showed that 43% of the aggressors had depressive traits, and 51% of these adolescents scored highly for anger as a trait. As for the bullying victims, 44% had significant scores for depressive traits and 34% had elevated levels of trait anger. The results of the intervention suggest that victimization decreased in all participants. Anger management in victims and aggressors also improved significantly as well, through the learning of healthier ways to express it. This cognitive-behavioral program was shown to be useful in tackling symptoms derived from bullying, as well as in finding various alternatives for experiencing this phenomenon in everyday life.