Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Relationships of Depression, Anxiety, and Somatic Symptoms Among Adolescents with Bullying Victimization Experiences

Depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms commonly co-occur in adolescents with bullying experiences and may interact over time. This study examined their reciprocal relationships at both variable and symptom levels using a three-wave longitudinal design with 12-month intervals. A total of 1,108 adolescents completed all three assessments, and 549 with a history of childhood bullying victimization were selected for final analysis. The data were analyzed using cross-lagged panel analysis and cross-lagged network analysis. At the variable level, depression predicted anxiety and somatic symptoms from T1 to T2, while anxiety became the main predictor from T2 to T3. Somatic symptoms showed delayed predictive effects. At the symptom level, depressive and somatic symptoms initially drove the network, with anxiety and depression becoming dominant later. These findings suggest that somatic symptoms, though delayed at the variable level, consistently influenced other symptoms at the symptom level.