Peer victimization is a common negative experience in childhood that can result in a number of harmful consequences, including a range of mental health challenges. Consequently, adult intervention, especially for elementary school-aged children, has been identified as a key ingredient in the prevention of and intervention with acts of aggression and peer victimization. However, children are not always willing to seek help from adults at school in response to peer victimization exposure, suggesting variability in children’s responses to being targeted by peers. A potential mediating pathway may exist where victimization exposure impacts children’s willingness to seek help from adults at school, which in turn may have an impact on their adjustment, including mental health outcomes. However, little is known about the role of children’s willingness to seek help in the link between exposure and negative mental health outcomes. In the present study, we examine 1) if willingness to seek help from teachers mediates the relationship between peer victimization exposure and mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and self-esteem); and 2) the mediation effects for boys and girls. Based on a sample of 960 3rd-5th grade students from seven elementary schools, results suggest that, while increased peer victimization was associated with lower willingness to seek help and worse mental health outcomes, meditational effects were only found for self-esteem for both boys and girls. Implications for practice in schools are discussed in terms of potential prevention and intervention practices in schools.

中文翻译：

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寻求帮助意愿在同伴受害与心理健康结果关系中的中介作用

同伴受害是童年时期常见的负面经历，可能导致许多有害后果，包括一系列心理健康挑战。因此，成人干预，特别是针对小学学龄儿童的干预，已被确定为预防和干预攻击行为和同伴受害行为的关键因素。然而，儿童并不总是愿意向学校成年人寻求帮助，以应对同伴受害的情况，这表明儿童对成为同伴攻击目标的反应存在差异。当受害暴露影响儿童向学校成年人寻求帮助的意愿时，可能存在潜在的中介途径，这反过来又可能影响他们的适应，包括心理健康结果。然而，人们对儿童寻求帮助的意愿在暴露与负面心理健康结果之间的联系中的作用知之甚少。在本研究中，我们检查：1）向教师寻求帮助的意愿是否会调节同伴受害暴露与心理健康结果（抑郁症状、焦虑症状和自尊）之间的关系； 2）男孩和女孩的中介效应。基于来自七所小学的 960 名 3 至 5 年级学生的样本，结果表明，虽然同伴受害的增加与寻求帮助的意愿较低和心理健康状况较差有关，但冥想仅对两个男孩的自尊产生影响和女孩。从学校潜在的预防和干预实践的角度讨论了对学校实践的影响。