Impact of Bullying and Facts on Victims in Elementary Schools

Abstract

Background: Bullying is a serious problem for the mental health development of school-age children. Few studies in Indonesia have reported how the impact of bullying causes children to experience stress and difficulty in building social relationships.
 Aim: This study aimed to determine the impact and phenomenon of becoming victims of bullying in elementary schools in Indonesia. 
 Methods: This research used a mixed-method approach with a sequential explanatory design. The sampling technique used multistage random sampling. The sample population included 617 elementary school students who are in grades 4, 5, and 6. The quantitative data analysis used structural equation modeling (SEM) while the qualitative data analysis was based on the results of SEM analysis.
 Results: The impact of bullying on victims is stressful and symptomatic. The victims revealed they became depressed, had poor performance, had difficulty in socializing, did not dare to report fear of being ostracized, feared they would become the next victim, and was advised by the teacher not to reply, be patient, and just let it go. As a result, the victims complained they felt ugly, ashamed among friends, and reluctant to attend the class. Teachers consider bullying as ordinary delinquency because the victim can recover without help, think it is normal, or it was just a joke so there is no need for special rules.
 Conclusion: Bullying of elementary school students has a negative impact on their mental health and causes psychosocial problems. There is a tendency to become repeated victims, while the ambivalence of teachers makes victims more vulnerable to bullying.

Social Transformation in Education: The Role of Teachers in Creating A Bully-Free School

“…In this context, it is acknowledged that social media can be one of the main contributing factors to bullying. Children can be exposed to various unhealthy behaviors through media, which can then influence their interactions in daily life (Abdul Ghofur et al, 2022;Kusumawaty et al, 2022). Parents play a crucial role in guiding their children to use home media.…”

Legal Case and Health Perspective of Bullying Leading to Blindness

“…Bullying in children most often occurs at school, but not many teachers in Indonesia consider bullying to be a serious problem [3]. Surveys in various parts of the world state that bullying most often occurs at the age of 7 years (second grade of elementary school), and then decreases until the age of 15 years.…”