Bullying and Self-harm in Adolescents: The Roles of Attachment Style and Parental Support

自杀是全球青少年死亡的主要原因之一。已知最强的自杀预测因素是自我伤害。最近的研究表明，在12到15岁之间，自我伤害迅速增加，特别是在女性身上。然而，这一增长的原因只通过一小部分研究得到了检验。欺凌是青少年自我伤害的一个研究不足但却很重要的风险因素。研究表明，受害与严重的心理健康影响以及自杀念头和自残行为的风险增加有关。此外，欺凌弱小的人也是受害者，他们出现严重精神健康问题和自我伤害行为的风险更高。与欺凌有关的一个重要因素是亲子纽带，特别是在女性身上。研究发现，受害者和受欺凌的受害者都有不安全的依恋风格。同样，研究发现，受害/欺凌受害者与父母支持不足之间存在关联。目前，调查这些潜在因素的研究很少；然而，至关重要的是增加我们的理解，以便为未来的干预措施和临床支持的发展提供信息，这是年轻人迫切需要的。因此，这个博士项目将致力于解决最初的问题：1)依恋风格和父母支持是否在受害/欺负受害者和自我伤害之间起中介作用？2)在有自我伤害行为的人中，与依恋风格和父母支持有关的关键因素是什么？本博士项目将由两项研究组成，结合定量和定性研究技术，将为设计一项基于学校的大型前瞻性研究提供参考。这将使我们能够测试这些变量在青少年中的时间关系。

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents globally. The strongest known predictor of suicide is self-harm. Recent research has shown that self-harm increases rapidly between the ages of 12 and 15 years, particularly in females. Nevertheless, the origins of this increase have only been examined by a small number of studies. An under-researched, yet important risk factor for adolescent self-harm is bullying. It has been shown that victimisation is associated with severe mental health effects and increased risk of suicidal ideation and self-harm behaviour. Furthermore, bullies who have also been victimised are at increased risk of acute mental health problems and self-harm behaviour. A significant factor associated with bullying is parent-child bonding, particularly in females. Research has found insecure attachment styles in both victims and bully-victims. Similarly, research has found an association between victimisation/bully-victimisation and low parental support. Currently, there is minimal research investigating these potential factors; yet, it is vital to increase our understanding in order to inform the development of future interventions and clinical support for self-harm which is urgently needed in young people. Consequently, this PhD project will aim to address the initial questions:1) Does attachment style and parental support mediate the relationship between victimisation/bully-victimisation and self-harm?2) What are the key factors relating to attachment style and parental support in those with self-harmful behaviour?This PhD project will consist of two studies, combining quantitative and qualitative research techniques which will inform the design of a large prospective school-based study. This will enable us to test the temporal relationships amongst these variables in adolescents.