| Summary: | <p>This project uses mixed methods to investigate cognitive and behavioural factors associated with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among young people who have been bullied. The aim is to explore the social trauma of bullying, investigate factors that increase vulnerability to ongoing emotional distress, and develop bespoke measures that are clinically useful and statistically robust.</p>
<p>Following a general introduction in Chapter 1, this thesis is structured into two main sections. In the first section, I present four studies exploring and evaluating factors associated with adjustment after bullying. In Chapter 2, longitudinal analysis of a large prospective cohort study shows that children who were severely bullied and have an external locus of control are more likely to experience a steeper increase in social fear during early adolescence compared to those with an internal locus of control. The following chapters describe development and validation of measures of bullying-related cognitions and coping strategies associated with PTSD and social anxiety among young adults. Chapter 3 reports pilot data on cognitive themes related to bullying that are associated with SAD and PTSD symptoms and suggests the online survey format is acceptable. In Chapter 4, qualitative analyses of semi-structured interviews with young adults about their experiences of bullying and their past and ongoing reactions suggest additional themes that may be associated with higher ongoing symptoms. Chapter 5, the last in this section, draws these findings together and describes statistical evaluation of new measures of cognitions and behaviours related to bullying which were derived from the previous studies. Data is from an online survey study with over a thousand young people starting university or college in the UK. The newly developed measures were reliable and valid, defined as the Bullied Cognitions Inventory, Bullied Social Attitudes Inventory, and the Bullied Social Behaviours Scale. In the second section, associations of the new cognitive and behavioural measures with SAD and PTSD are tested. Chapter 6 reports the extent to which these measures distinguish between SAD, PTSD, or no likely clinical diagnosis in the online survey data. Participants in this study were invited to complete three additional surveys during their first year of university and, in Chapter 7, longitudinal analyses are reported that explore changes in PTSD and SAD symptoms and the extent to which the new measures can predict differing outcomes.</p>
<p>Together, these studies highlight the social trauma of bullying and identify cognitive and behavioural factors associated with SAD and PTSD symptoms among young adults who have been bullied. Psychometrically validated scales suggest themes that distinguish between symptoms as well as transdiagnostic features. Results and limitations are discussed, as well as suggestions for clinical application and future research.</p>
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