Child maltreatment predicts bullying/victimization through personality solidification: A weekly diary study

Background: Bullying among adolescents is a significant public health concern worldwide. While child maltreatment (CM) is a known risk factor, few studies explore whether abused adolescents become bullies or victims and how CM affects day-to-day bullying/victimization. Existing research often uses cross-sectional and longitudinal designs with long intervals, failing to capture the dynamic nature of adolescence and bullying behaviors.

Objective: Based on personality solidification theory, the study used a weekly diary method to examine the relationship between adolescents' CM and weekly bullying/victimization, as well as the mediating mechanisms of the Big Five personality traits.

Participants and setting: 452 students (167 girls, M_age = 12.90, SD_age = 0.48) from a junior high school in southern China participated in a 7-week diary study.

Methods: After participants finished all questionnaires, multilevel models were constructed to analyze weekly diary data.

Results: The findings indicated that CM positively predicted adolescents' weekly bullying/victimization, both directly and indirectly, through personality traits. Specifically, CM predicted weekly bullying through openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, while it also forecasted weekly victimization through neuroticism.

Conclusions: CM had long-term adverse effects on adolescents' day-to-day bullying and victimization through the solidification of personality, which may provide significant theoretical and empirical foundations for the prevention of bullying in schools.