Associations between bullying, depressive symptoms, parental supervision, and suicidal behaviors in Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Background School bullying is associated with elevated risk of adolescent mental health problems, yet the complex interrelationships between bullying experiences, depressive symptoms, and parental factors in the Chinese cultural context require further investigation. This cross-sectional study examined associations between traditional and cyberbullying (as victim or perpetrator), depressive symptoms, parental supervision, and suicidal behaviors among Chinese adolescents. Methods Data from 12,019 students (Grades 5–12) recruited from 16 administrative districts in Beijing through a cross-sectional survey using multi-stage cluster random sampling were included in the final analyses. Participants completed standardized measures of traditional and cyberbullying (victimization and perpetration), depressive symptoms, suicidal behaviors, and parental supervision. Associations among variables were examined using chi-square tests, ANOVA, and correlation analyses. Indirect and conditional associations were examined using PROCESS Models 4 and 59, respectively, with 5,000 percentile bootstrap resamples, adjusting for demographic and psychosocial covariates. Results Among 12,019 participants, 1,322 (11.0%) reported suicidal behaviors. All forms of bullying were significantly associated with both depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors. Depressive symptoms were associated with both bullying experiences and suicidality, consistent with a potential mediating pathway. The associations between bullying involvement and depressive symptoms, as well as between depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors, were stronger at higher levels of perceived parental supervision. Conclusion This cross-sectional study documented significant associations between bullying, depressive symptoms, parental supervision, and suicidal behaviors among Chinese adolescents. While depressive symptoms may represent a key psychological pathway linking bullying to suicidality, the conditional associations observed suggest that parental supervision may interact with these processes in complex ways. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify causal pathways and inform culturally sensitive prevention strategies.