Prevalence of bullying in secondary schools in Port Harcourt

Abstract

The rate of bullying was found to be very high in secondary schools in Port Harcourt.

The relationship of school climate, teacher defending and friends on students' perceptions of bullying in high school

“…In addition to climate, it was also of interest to ascertain whether student demographic characteristics, such as gender, grade level, number of friends, and the school attended, were associated with the prevalence of peer perpetration and victimization. Contrary to expectations and previous research, neither grade level nor gender were associated with any aspect of perpetration in this study (Alex‐Hart et al, 2015; Brown et al, 2008; Elledge et al, 2010; Juvonen et al, 2011). Furthermore, the type of school that students attended was related to their perceptions of their own peer perpetration behaviors, and whether they had been victimized themselves, with those attending the girls only school being the most likely to be both a perpetrator and a victim, and those attending the boys only school the least likely to engage in peer perpetration, or to be victimized themselves.…”

“…These unexpected findings reveal an interesting gap that should be further explored in future research. Perhaps males are not universally more prone to perpetration when compared to females (Brown et al, 2008; Seals & Young, 2003), or single‐sex boarding schools always worse than day schools (Alex‐Hart et al, 2015; Lester et al, 2015; Ncube, 2013; Pfeiffer & Pinquart, 2014), but other contextual or school climate variables influence their development and proliferation. Finally, having friends was associated with less peer perpetration and victimization.…”

“…The prevalence of bullying differs based on whether a school is boarding or day, single sex or mixed (Alex‐Hart, Okagua, & Opara, 2015; Lester, Mander, & Cross, 2015). Alex‐Hart and colleagues' study (2015) in Nigeria exploring bullying prevalence in secondary schools found bullying was highest in all boys' schools, and lowest in mixed sex schools.…”

“…Furthermore, boys are more prone than girls to participate in acts of physical hostility, whereas girls are more likely to participate in acts of verbal hostility (Baldry & Farrington, 2000; Elledge et al, 2010; Nansel et al, 2001). A study conducted in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, examining the prevalence of bullying in secondary schools found that bullying was highest among boys (Alex‐Hart et al, 2015). Another study examining the association between bullying and adverse health behaviors among adolescents from eight African countries revealed that boys were more likely to report exposure to bullying than girls (Brown, Riley, Butchart, & Kann, 2008).…”

“…The prevalence of bullying differs based on whether a school is boarding or day, single sex or mixed (Alex‐Hart, Okagua, & Opara, 2015; Lester, Mander, & Cross, 2015). Alex‐Hart and colleagues' study (2015) in Nigeria exploring bullying prevalence in secondary schools found bullying was highest in all boys' schools, and lowest in mixed sex schools. A similar study done in Australia among 7th, 8th and 9th graders showed students who were classified as boarders experienced more bullying compared to those who attended school only during the day.…”