EXPERIENCE OF BULLYING AND HELP-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE

Abstract

Bullying is a major public health problem across the globe with consequences that go beyond the immediate period when it takes place. There are inadequate records of support groups, implemented programme and policies aimed at curbing bullying or providing support for students who have experienced bullying in Nigeria. It is important therefore, to determine how this population seeks for help in order to develop programme that can effectively curb this problem. This study was aimed at investigating the experiences of bullying and help-seeking behaviour of Secondary School Students (SSS) in Ibadan North Local Government Area (LGA). This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 262 students from public and 153 students from private secondary schools in Ibadan North LGA. A self-administered questionnaire which included questions on socio-demographic characteristics, experiences, help-seeking behaviour, factors influencing help-seeking behaviour, perpetrators and bystanders related to bullying was used for quantitative data collection, In Depth Interviews (IDI) were conducted on some students who had been victims, perpetrators and bystanders in order to gain more insights into their bullying experiences and help-seeking behaviour. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Chi-square test and regression analysis at p<0.05 level of confidence, while IDI were analyzed thematically. The age of respondents was 13.5±2.4 years, 52.5% were males and 56.2% were in junior secondary classes. The study revealed that 49.2% were bystanders in the bullying experiences, 47.7% were victims, 10.7% were perpetrators of bullying and 8.2% were both victims and perpetrators. Help-seeking behaviour for bullying was 76.1%, with majority (70.1%) of the respondents reporting for physical bullying. Males were almost two times more likely to be victims of bullying (OR=1.770:95%CI=1.169-2.680), and less likely to seek for help for verbal form of bullying (OR=0.458:95%CI=0.149-0.843). Males were also 1.7 times more likely to be bystanders in the bullying episodes compared to females (OR=1.712:95%CI=1.129-2.595). Junior SSS were 3.6 times more likely to be victims of bullying (OR=3.571:95%CI=2.180- 5.849) and 2.2 times more likely to seek for help for psychological form of bullying (OR=2.223:95%CI=1.127-4.386). There was a 24.0% probability that students in private school were less likely to be victims of bullying (OR=0.241:95%CI=0.147-0.395), and a 33.7% chance they were less likely to seek for help for psychological bullying compared to those in public secondary schools (OR=0.337:95%CI=0.163-0.699). Findings from the IDI revealed that bullies choose victims based on their physical characteristics and as a form of revenge. A substantial proportion of the respondents were victims of bullying and majority sought for help when they were bullied. There is need for educational intervention programmes such as counseling and peer education to effectively address the phenomenon in secondary schools.