Prevelance of bullying and relation with psychological distress and perceived social support among middle schools children

Abstract

School Bullying among adolescents is a universal problem and pretty prevalent. School Bullying represents a significant problem in Turkish schools, and for decades, it has been one of the critical problems in schools. No matter the type or form of bullying, it has a tremendous effect on the children's mental health. The current study aims to investigate the prevalence of bullying in its various forms in schools. In addition, the study also explores the relationship between bullying, perceived social support, and psychological distress. The study used a quantitative research method. The study included 601 (N= 601) students aged 11 to 15 years (M = 12.97; SD = .611), with 53.61% identifying as female and 46.39% as male. The participants (N = 601) were students chosen from six state middle schools in Istanbul in the 2022–2023 academic year. The study administered a questionnaire to assess bullying, perceived social support, and psychological distress, and a demographic information sheet. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to interpret the data. The results revealed that 43.26% had faced victimization, 20.79% were bullies, and 15% were bully-victim. In terms of gender, comparison among victimization females met higher (52.34%) than males (47.665), and meanwhile, bullying behavior is significantly higher among males (60.80%) than females (39.20%). There were apparent gender differences, with boys consistently experiencing more physical bullying while social bullying is common among females. Further results revealed that a medium level of perceived social support among victims, bullies, and bully-victims had positively correlated with the Psychological health of the students.