<p>School bullying, often manifested as repeated peer victimization and aggression, is a significant public health issue associated with adverse mental health outcomes. This study compared the network structures of mental distress symptoms and their associations with coping strategies among primary school students who report repeated bullying-related peer victimization, contrasting those reporting victimization only (pure victims) with those reporting both victimization and aggression (bully-victims). A sample of 1,515 primary school students was used, among whom 241 students were identified as bully-victims. An additional 241 pure victims were randomly selected for comparison. The results revealed that the two groups shared core symptoms (i.e., “not enjoy day-to-day activities,” “unhappy and depressed,” “could not overcome difficulties”) and their overall symptom-network structures were broadly similar. Descriptively, “constantly under stress” appeared to be more central among pure victims, whereas “losing confidence in oneself” demonstrated higher centrality among bully-victims. In the coping–distress networks, approach coping items were negatively associated with mental distress symptoms in both groups. Avoidance coping items showed few links with distress among pure victims but more heterogeneous and partly adverse associations among bully-victims. Taken together, these findings suggest shared central symptoms and the potential value of strengthening approach coping across roles. Avoidance coping, however, may be functionally heterogeneous, particularly among bully-victims, underscoring the importance of strategy-specific coping guidance. This study provides preliminary, evidence-informed insights for mental health support in bullying-related contexts.</p>