Influences of prepandemic bullying victimization and COVID-19 peer discrimination on Chinese American adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guided by the social-ecological diathesis-stress model, we examined the interactive influences of prepandemic bullying victimization and COVID-19 peer discrimination on Chinese American adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 193 Chinese American adolescents from middle and high schools in the United States. Results of regression analyses suggested that Chinese American adolescents' prepandemic bullying victimization in both traditional and cyber forms, but not COVID-19 peer discrimination, was significantly and positively associated with both their internalizing and externalizing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, after their sex, grade level, age, and immigration status were controlled. Moreover, Chinese American adolescents' prepandemic bullying victimization in cyber form (but not in traditional form), mitigated the risk influence of COVID-19 peer discrimination on their internalizing problems (but not externalizing problems), during the pandemic. The findings indicate the salient and lasting influence of prepandemic bullying victimization on Chinese American adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the importance of continued support for vulnerable students who suffered from prepandemic bullying victimization during the school reopening and postpandemic recovery. It also highlights the importance of developing a resilience-focused approach to creating conditions and opportunities to foster posttraumatic growth among youth with bullying and racial trauma experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).