The impact of school bullying on adolescents' psychosocial resources and help-seeking intentions

School bullying has been recognised as having a major impact on mental health. Bullied students are often encouraged to seek help from others, but research indicates that adolescents experiencing problems tend not to ask for help. This study examines whether being bullied depletes psychological and social resources such that those who are bullied have lower intentions to seek help with this problem. Students (169 females, 153 males) from a large public high school in Australia completed a questionnaire assessing bullying prevalence, help-seeking and associated psychosocial factors. The results showed that being bullied was associated with poorer psychological health, fewer social resources and lower help-seeking intentions from informal sources (friends and family). The association between being bullied and low help-seeking intentions was explained principally by fewer social resources. All students indicated they were unlikely to seek help from formal sources (teachers, mental health workers, etc). Anti-bullying interventions should account for the negative psychological and social consequences of bullying, and the reluctance to seek help from formal sources.