Traditional bullying and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization frequently co-occur and correlate significantly with mental health outcomes. However, little is known about the joint trajectories of traditional and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization among youth during the transition into adolescence or their prospective associations with mental health outcomes. This 3-year longitudinal study addressed these research gaps by collecting six waves of survey data from 2,154 Chinese elementary school students (54.87% boys, Mage = 9.61, SD = 0.65 at baseline). Parallel process latent class growth modeling revealed four distinct joint trajectory groups: uninvolved (77.8%, consistently low traditional and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization), traditional bullying victimization (12.4%, stable high traditional bullying victimization alongside low traditional perpetration and low cyberbullying perpetration and victimization), traditional bullying perpetration (7.1%, stable high traditional bullying perpetration alongside low traditional victimization and low cyberbullying perpetration and victimization), and fully involved with predominant cyberbullying perpetration (2.7%, initially low involvement across all bullying behaviors but later markedly elevated, particularly in cyberbullying perpetration). Notably, no trajectory characterized solely by cyberbullying perpetration and/or victimization was identified. Results indicated that boys exhibited higher odds than girls of being classified in the traditional bullying perpetration and fully involved with predominant cyberbullying perpetration groups compared to the uninvolved group. Furthermore, the highest frequencies of internalizing and externalizing problems and the lowest levels of well-being were observed for youth in the fully involved with predominant cyberbullying perpetration group, followed by those who were persistently involved in one predominant bullying experience, and finally, those in the uninvolved group. These findings advanced the literature by elucidating the nature of joint trajectories of traditional and cyberbullying and their prospective associations with mental health outcomes, highlighting the significance of developing targeted interventions for different groups to reduce mental health problems and enhance well-being.
AchenbachT. M. (1991). Manual for the youth self-report and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont.
2.
AntoniadouN.KokkinosC. M.FantiK. A. (2019). Traditional and cyber bullying/victimization among adolescents: Examining their psychosocial profile through latent profile analysis. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 1, 85–98.
3.
AsparouhovT.MuthénB. (2014). Auxiliary variables in mixture modeling: Three-step approaches using Mplus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 21(3), 329–341.
4.
BaldryA. C.FarringtonD. P.SorrentinoA. (2017). School bullying and cyberbullying among boys and girls: Roles and overlap. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 26(9), 937–951.
5.
BarkerE. D.ArseneaultL.BrendgenM.FontaineN.MaughanB. (2008). Joint development of bullying and victimization in adolescence: Relations to delinquency and self-harm. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(9), 1030–1038.
6.
BirmaherB.KhetarpalS.BrentD.CullyM.BalachL.KaufmanJ.NeerS. M. (1997). The screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (SCARED): Scale construction and psychometric characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(4), 545–553.
7.
BhatiaR. (2023). The impact of bullying in childhood and adolescence. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 36(6), 461–465.
8.
BollenK. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. Wiley.
9.
CamachoA.SmithP. K.Ortega-RuizR.RomeraE. M. (2023). Joint trajectories of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization: Associations with psychosocial adjustment. Computers in Human Behavior, 148, 107924.
10.
CaspiA.ElderG. H.BemD. J. (1987). Moving against the world: Life-course patterns of explosive children. Developmental Psychology, 23(2), 308–313.
11.
ChenL.ZhangW.JiL.Deater-DeckardK. (2019). Developmental trajectories of Chinese adolescents’ relational aggression: Associations with changes in social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 90(6), 2153–2170.
12.
ChoS.LeeJ. R. (2020). Joint growth trajectories of bullying perpetration and victimization among Korean adolescents: Estimating a second-order growth mixture model–factor-of-curves with low self-control and opportunity correlates. Crime & Delinquency, 66(9), 1296–1337.
13.
ChowA. R.PingaultJ. B.BaldwinJ. R. (2023). Early risk factors for joint trajectories of bullying victimisation and perpetration. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(9), 1723–1731.
14.
ChuX. W.FanC. Y.LiuQ. Q.ZhouZ. K. (2018). Stability and change of bullying roles in the traditional and virtual contexts: A three-wave longitudinal study in Chinese early adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47, 2384–2400.
15.
CicchettiD.RogoschF. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8(4), 597–600.
16.
CrouchE.SmithH. P.AndersenT. S. (2025). Rural–urban differences in bullying perpetration and victimization using a national sample. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 49(1), 1–9.
17.
de VriesE.KaufmanT. M. L.VeenstraR.Laninga-WijnenL.HuitsingG. (2021). Bullying and victimization trajectories in the first years of secondary education: Implications for status and affection. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(10), 1995–2006.
18.
DesmaraisR. (2023). Joint trajectories of bullying victimization and perpetration: Investigating the role of the COMT gene (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Ottawa.
19.
DishionT. J.KimH.StormshakE. A.O’NeillM. (2014). A brief measure of peer affiliation and social acceptance (PASA): Validity in an ethnically diverse sample of early adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 43(4), 601–612.
20.
FuR.HuebnerE. S.TianL. (2024). Sex-specific joint trajectories of deviant peer affiliation and externalizing problems from middle childhood to early adolescence: The predictive role of family maltreatment. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(6), 1793–1806.
21.
HaltiganJ. D.VaillancourtT. (2014). Joint trajectories of bullying and peer victimization across elementary and middle school and associations with symptoms of psychopathology. Developmental Psychology, 50(11), 2426–2436.
22.
HanY.DonnellyH. K.MaJ.SongJ.HongH. (2019). Neighborhood predictors of bullying perpetration and victimization trajectories among South Korean adolescents. Journal of Community Psychology, 47(7), 1714–1732.
23.
HarrisJ. R. (1995). Where is the child’s environment? A group socialization theory of development. Psychological Review, 102(3), 458–489.
24.
HongS.NoU.LeeH. (2011). A semi-parametric group-based approach to analyzing latent classes in adolescents’ violence frequency trajectories. Studies on Korean Youth, 22(3), 175–195.
25.
HuR.XueJ.HanZ. (2021). School bullying victimization and perpetration among Chinese adolescents: A latent class approach. Children and Youth Services Review, 120, 105709.
26.
HuangJ.HuebnerE. S.TianL. (2022). Stability and changes in traditional and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization in childhood: The predictive role of depressive symptoms. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(19–20), NP17300–NP17324.
27.
HuangJ.KaufmanT. M.BaamsL.BranjeS. (2024). Peer bullying victimization trajectories for sexually and gender diverse youth from early childhood to late adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 53(11), 2589–2609.
28.
JungT.WickramaK. (2008). An introduction to latent class growth analysis and growth mixture modeling. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 302–317.
29.
KasturiratnaK. S.HartantoA.ChenC. H.TongE. M.MajeedN. M. (2025). Umbrella review of meta-analyses on the risk factors, protective factors, consequences and interventions of cyberbullying victimization. Nature Human Behaviour, 9(1), 101–132.
30.
KellyE. V.NewtonN. C.StapinskiL. A.SladeT.BarrettE. L.ConrodP. J.TeessonM. (2015). Suicidality, internalizing problems and externalizing problems among adolescent bullies, victims and bully-victims. Preventive Medicine, 73, 100–105.
31.
KeyesC. L. (2005). Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(3), 539–548.
32.
KowalskiR. M.GiumettiG. W.SchroederA. N.LattannerM. R. (2014). Bullying in the digital age: A critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth. Psychological Bulletin, 140(4), 1073–1137.
33.
LamS. F.LawW.ChanC. K.WongB. P.ZhangX. (2015). A latent class growth analysis of school bullying and its social context: The self-determination theory perspective. School Psychology Quarterly, 30(1), 75–90.
34.
LiX. (2019). Reliability and validity of the World Health Organization Five-item Well-Being Index (WHO-5) for screening depressive disorders of children in contiguous destitute areas. Journal of Social Work, (1), 72–80.
35.
LiJ.HuebnerE. S.TianL. (2024). Linking childhood maltreatment to cyberbullying perpetration and victimization: A systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 156, 108199.
36.
LiC.WangP.Martin-MoratinosM.Bella-FernándezM.Blasco-FontecillaH. (2024). Traditional bullying and cyberbullying in the digital age and its associated mental health problems in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(9), 2895–2909.
37.
MishnaF.Khoury-KassabriM.GadallaT.DaciukJ. (2012). Risk factors for involvement in cyber bullying: Victims, bullies and bully–victims. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(1), 63–70.
38.
MooreP. M.HuebnerE. S.HillsK. J. (2012). Electronic bullying and victimization and life satisfaction in middle school students. Social Indicators Research, 107, 429–447.
39.
MuthénL. K.MuthénB. O. (1998–2017). Mplus user’s guide (8th ed.).
40.
OlweusD. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Blackwell.
41.
PalladinoB. E.NocentiniA.MenesiniE. (2016). Evidence-based intervention against bullying and cyberbullying: Evaluation of the NoTrap! program in two independent trials. Aggressive Behavior, 42(2), 194–206.
42.
ParkM. A.GoldenK. J.Vizcaino-VickersS.JidongD.RajS. (2021). Sociocultural values, attitudes and risk factors associated with adolescent cyberbullying in East Asia: A systematic review. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 15(1), article 5.
43.
PengpidS.PeltzerK. (2019). Bullying victimization and externalizing and internalizing symptoms among in-school adolescents from five ASEAN countries. Children and Youth Services Review, 106, 104473.
44.
PolaninJ. R.EspelageD. L.GrotpeterJ. K.SpinneyE.IngramK. M.ValidoA.El SheikhA.TorgalC.RobinsonL. (2021). A meta-analysis of longitudinal partial correlations between school violence and mental health, school performance, and criminal or delinquent acts. Psychological Bulletin, 147(2), 115–133.
45.
ReignierV. L. R.GascóV. J. P.MónacoE. (2022). The influence of self-esteem and (cyber) bullying on adolescents’ well-being: A question of gender?Revista de Psicología Clínica con Niños y Adolescentes, 9(1), 37–44.
46.
RudolphK. D.HammenC. (1999). Age and gender as determinants of stress exposure, generation, and reactions in youngsters: A transactional perspective. Child Development, 70(3), 660–677.
47.
SalmivalliC. (2010). Bullying and the peer group: A review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(2), 112–120.
48.
SonnentagS. (2015). Dynamics of well-being. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2(1), 261–293.
SuL.LiX.LuoX.WanG.YangZ. (1998). The newly revised norms of Child Behavior Checklist in Hunan province. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 12(2), 67–69.
51.
Van der GraaffJ.CarloG.CrocettiE.KootH. M.BranjeS. (2018). Prosocial behavior in adolescence: Gender differences in development and links with empathy. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(5), 1086–1099.
52.
WaasdorpT. E.BradshawC. P. (2015). The overlap between cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(5), 483–488.
53.
WaltersG. D. (2021a). School-age bullying victimization and perpetration: A meta-analysis of prospective studies and research. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(5), 1129–1139.
54.
WaltersG. D. (2021b). Trajectories of bullying victimization and perpetration in Australian school children and their relationship to future delinquency and conduct problems. Psychology of Violence, 11(1), 19–27.
55.
WangM.HuebnerE. S.LiuY.TianL. (2022). Longitudinal relations between traditional bullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration in elementary school students: Deviant peer affiliation as a mediator. Psychology of Violence, 12(5), 361–370.
56.
WickramaK.LeeT. K.O’NealC. W.LorenzF. (2016). Higher-order growth curves and mixture modeling with Mplus: A practical guide. Routledge.
57.
World Health Organization. (1998). Wellbeing measures in primary health care/the DepCare Project: Report on a WHO meeting: Stockholm, Sweden, 12–13 February 1998. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe.
58.
XingJ.PengM.DengZ.ChanK. L.ChangQ.HoR. T. H. (2023). The prevalence of bullying victimization and perpetration among the school-aged population in Chinese communities: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(5), 3445–3460.
59.
XuX.HuebnerE. S.TianL. (2021). Co-developmental trajectories of specific anxiety symptoms from middle childhood to early adolescence: Associations with psychological well-being and academic achievement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50, 1140–1156.
60.
ZhaiB. (2021). Cyber bullying and victimization among adolescents: A 3-year longitudinal study considering joint trajectories, predictors, and outcomes [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.
61.
ZhangW.ChenL.JiL.ZhangL.WangS. (2009). Physical and relational victimization, and children’s emotional adjustment in middle childhood. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 41(5), 433–443.
62.
ZhouX.HuY.HeX. (2014). Variations of “large class size” in Chinese elementary schools and analysis of policy factors. Studies in Sociology of Science, 5(4), 85–90.
63.
ZhouY.ZhengH.LiangY.WangJ.HanR.LiuZ. (2022). Joint developmental trajectories of bullying and victimization from childhood to adolescence: A parallel-process latent class growth analysis. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(3–4), NP1759–NP1783.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
