The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on bullying victimization and emotional symptoms: a longitudinal study on natives and students with immigrant backgrounds

The COVID-19 pandemic affected adolescents’ social interactions and mental health. However, it is still unclear how the developmental trajectories of individuals at higher risk of social exclusion and victimization changed during this challenging period. Using the Latent Growth Curve Analysis (LGCA), the present study aims to investigate whether belonging to a minority ethnic group might be an additional risk factor, by analyzing trends over time in both bullying victimization (V) and emotional symptoms (ES) from the pre-pandemic period to 15-months after the outbreak. 826 students (46.4% females; Mage=15.22; SD = 0.63; 18.5% with an immigrant background) attending the first year of high school were followed before the pandemic (T1-January 2020), to 12 months (T2-February 2021) and 15-months (T3-May 2021) after the outbreak. Findings highlighted the pervasive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all students, with no differences between natives and students with immigrant background. Indeed, results showed a decrease in victimization, especially the more systematic behaviors, and an increase in emotional symptoms over time. However, we found a greater growth in emotional symptoms in students who started with a lower level of victimization before the pandemic. It seems like a tsunami has passed and completely engulfed everyone. The present study warns about the return to school in face-to-face mode for adolescents after a period of great suffering, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.