UNVEILING THE INVISIBLE SCARS: THE PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS OF BULLYING IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF A UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52764/jms.26.34.2.2Keywords:
Psychological effectAbstract
Objective: To assess the prevalence of bullying victimization and its psychosocial correlates among undergraduate students at the University of Peshawar.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among undergraduate students at the University of Peshawar from January 2023 to June 2024. Data were collected using Olweus and Rosenberg’s scale. Responses from 358 students were obtained. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS v.20.0).
Results: Of the 358 respondents, 232 (64.8%) had been victims of bullying. Of these, 66.8% were female. A total of 30.2% of respondents reported being bullied in childhood, 24.1% in adolescence, and 42.2% in adulthood. Verbal bullying was the most common form, reported by 64.5% of respondents, followed by physical bullying (19.4%) and cyberbullying (12.9%). A significant association between gender and type of bullying was found (P = .006). Bullying was associated with Anger in 20.6% of respondents, Sadness in 20%, Anxiety in 16.4%, Shame in 14.2%, Depression in 13.6%, and Fear in 13.3%. A total of 75.4% of students reported adverse social experiences related to bullying victimization; among these, 13.1% had trouble making new friends, 25.4% felt lonely, and 36.9% avoided social interaction. Among the 232 respondents with bullying victimization, the mean Rosenberg Scale score was 18.50 ± 6.23. By category, 17.7% had low self-esteem, 77.6% had normal self-esteem, and 4.7% had high self-esteem.
Conclusion: Bullying victimization, particularly verbal bullying, was highly prevalent among undergraduate students at the University of Peshawar and was associated with adverse psychological and social outcomes reported by participants.
Keywords: Bullying, verbal bullying, psychological effects, social effects
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nasir Hayat, Aiyna Usman, Muhammad Arsalan, Kashaf Saif, Syed Muhammad Ahmad, Muhammad Kashif, Ahmad Sanan, Abdul Muiz, Fatima Ali, Irtiza Batool Ahmad
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