The Associations between Bullying Victimization, Self-Stigma, and Emotion Regulation Difficulties in Early Adolescence: A Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis.

While bullying’s negative impacts are well documented, little is known about how distinct forms of bullying victimization reciprocally interact with self-stigma and emotion regulation difficulties over time. Addressing this gap is crucial for advancing theory and guiding effective interventions. Participants were 579 Chinese early adolescents (39.7% female; 37.3% Grade 7, 62.7% Grade 8; Mage = 13.46 years, SD = 0.93). In a two-wave design over a four-month interval, they completed measures of bullying victimization (physical, verbal, relational), self-stigma, and emotion regulation difficulties. Cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) analysis was used to investigate the longitudinal reciprocal relationships among these constructs. Results indicated that verbal bullying and limited use of emotion regulation strategies emerged as the most influential nodes in the network. mutually reinforcing pathways were found between verbal and relational bullying and later emotion regulation difficulties (e.g., limited strategy access, trouble with goal-directed behavior). Relational bullying victimization and difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with higher subsequent self-stigma Conversely, self-stigma was associated with lower subsequent physical bullying victimization, revealing a potentially harmful coping mechanism of social withdrawal. These findings reveal a network of reinforcing pathways and highlight the need for interventions that address both specific forms of bullying (e.g., verbal aggression) and deficits in emotion regulation to reduce adolescents’ internalized distress.