Impact of bullying on school students' self-esteem

Abstract

Bullying is one of the leading causes of violence among students today. Bullying refers to a child being bullied or threatened by a powerful peer or peers. Bullying behaviors are on the rise among students in schools today and its impact is seen as a factor affecting their personality. Self-esteem is considered as one of the main factors determining personality. Self-esteem is the positive and negative attitude one has towards oneself. The study "Impact of bullying on school students' selfesteem" was conducted on that basis. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of bullying on school students' self-esteem. 76 students of Junior Secondary Schools of Vavuniya South Educational Zone were selected for this study through a simple random sampling. Data were collected through a self-developed questionnaire and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) for this descriptive study and the collected data were subjected to statistical analysis using the Statistical Software for Social Sciences (Version 20). ANOVA, Regression analysis, correlation and t-test were used in this study. As a result of this study, The level of self-esteem of the students is normal; Bullying does not affect students' self-esteem; There was no association between bullying and selfesteem; Gender differences are found in bullying and self-esteem; Found to be related to students ’age and bullying and self-esteem; Female students are more likely to be involved in bullying; It has been found that there is a difference between the self-esteem of students who are subjected to bullying, dismissal, being forced to do things they do not want to do, and the bullying of others to take or ignore their belongings or money. Recommendations have been made to the teachers, school administration, parents and students to get rid of the bullying behavior found among the students, as well as recommendations for the future researchers.