Causes and Consquences of Victimisation: Associations between Social Anxiety, Self-Esteem, Friendship Quality and Gender.

Abstract

Bulling in schools is a worldwide issue and its consequences have been found to be detrimental to young people’s lives (Anderson et al, 2015). To provide a further insight into victimisation, the current study specifically looked at social anxiety, self-esteem and friendship quality as possible consequences and risk factors for being a victim of bullying. To accomplish this, 654 participants consisting of 327 females and 281 males from 6 schools across the U.K and Gibraltar engaged in an online questionnaire. It was concluded that not only does victimisation contribute to levels of social anxiety and low self-esteem, but also that social anxiety, low self-esteem and friendship quality predicts victimisation. As a result, demonstrating that these variables are both consequences and risk factors of victimisation and suggests a possible “cycle” involved. Gender differences in victimisation were also explored. Although no significant gender difference was found for overall victimisation, there were clear differences in the various subtypes of bullying. Specifically, that males were more likely to suffer from physical bullying whereas females were more at risk of indirect and cyberbullying. A practical implication of the results concluded in this investigation is the need for intervention strategies that aim to target the victim’s well-being, such as anxiety levels and self-esteem. As a result, this will in turn help to weaken the victimisation cycle.