In recent years, sleep - related troubles among teenagers have been rising steadily year after year and have turned into one of the global public health worries. School bullying is a key element leading to sleep disorders and depression in teenagers. However, the underlying mechanisms connecting school bullying and sleep disorders are still not fully made clear. This study aims to explore the connection between bullying experiences and sleep disorders among middle school students, as well as the chain mediating function of psychological capital and depressive symptoms. The aim is to provide ideas for stopping school bullying from occurring and improving sleep - related problems in teenagers. In April 2025, 1106 middle school students from 3 rural schools in the Xiangxi region were selected as the research subjects. Basic demographic information was gathered using a self - designed questionnaire. Data collection was carried out with the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire (Chinese version), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Adolescent Psychological Capital Scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale to assess bullying experiences, sleep disorders, psychological capital, and depressive symptoms. School bullying was inversely correlated with psychological capital (r = − 0.170) and positively linked to depressive symptoms (r = 0.354) and sleep disorders (r = 0.317). Psychological capital had a negative correlation with depressive symptoms (r = − 0.537) and sleep disorders (r = − 0.355). Depressive symptoms also exhibited a positive correlation with sleep disorders (r = 0.610). (All P values were < 0.001.) Mediation analysis revealed that depressive symptoms acted as a mediator in the relationship between school bullying and sleep disorders, with an effect size of 0.223(95% Boot CI: 0.169-0.025). Additionally, the impact of bullying on sleep disorders is mainly mediated through a chain comprising psychological capital and depressive symptoms, with an effect size of 0.065 (95% CI: 0.042–0.092). School bullying experiences may be associated with an increased risk of sleep disorders among middle school students, with psychological capital and depressive symptoms playing a chain mediating role in this association. The findings suggest that reducing the occurrence of school bullying may represent an important preventive direction for promoting adolescents’ sleep health. In addition, attention to psychological capital and early identification and management of depressive symptoms may help alleviate sleep problems related to bullying experiences.
Luo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.