‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ World Anti-Bullying Forum 2025

Blaming Myself or My Actions? Unpacking Attribution Styles and Their Impact on Chinese American Youth’s Mental Health

11 Jun 2025, 14:45

15m

Stavanger Forum

Oral Paper Presentation Bias-based forms of bullying and cyberbullying Room: Kaldefjell

Speaker

Meg Stomski (University of California Berkeley)

Description

This study explores how attribution styles impact the mental health of Chinese American youth facing bullying, drawing on Attribution Theory (Weiner, 1985) and Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). Attribution styles—specifically characterological self-blame (attributing bullying to stable, personal traits) and behavioral self-blame (attributing bullying to controllable actions)—have been linked to mental health adjustment following victimization. This study further examines how contextual factors (e.g., school climate and parent communication) shape the development of these attributions, as these environmental influences are critical to understanding how youth interpret and respond to bullying.

Data from 230 Chinese American adolescents in California were collected in Summer 2024. Participants completed measures assessing four types of bullying—verbal, relational, physical, and cyberbullying—along with attribution styles and mental health outcomes. Regression analyses examined the effects of demographic and contextual factors on attribution development, while moderation analyses assessed whether attribution styles moderated the relationship between bullying and mental health outcomes.

Results indicate that characterological self-blame was associated with increased internalizing symptoms, while behavioral self-blame was linked to increased externalizing symptoms. Moderation analyses revealed that high characterological attribution intensified internalizing symptoms, while high behavioral attribution was linked to increased externalizing symptoms across bullying types. A positive school climate predicted lower characterological self-blame, while family communication was not significantly related to either attribution style.

Findings underscore the need for culturally responsive interventions promoting positive school climates to reduce internalized blame and mitigate mental health risks, fostering resilience among Chinese American youth in school and clinical settings.

Keywords

attributions, mental health, bullying victimization, Chinese American