Experiences of bullying in relation to psychological functioning of young adults: An exploratory study

Background: The young adult undergoes a vast number of experiences while socializing with his/her peers, bullying is one such experience. Though there have been increasing instances of bullying, it is a poorly understood phenomenon in the Indian setting. Undergoing experiences of bullying often result in long-term psychological consequences which may have an impact on individual's well-being. Keeping this background in mind, the present study was an attempt to explore the experiences of bullying in young adults in the Indian setting and to assess his/her psychological functioning so as to make an attempt to understand the interplay between the two variables. This may further help in planning interventions and prevention strategies for the same. Methodology: The sample consisted of 311 students, both males and females. They were assessed on Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire and Achenbach's Adult Self-report. Results: Around 22.2% of the sample had been both bullies and victims of bullying, while 13.2% were only victims and 3.5% were only bullies. Males had higher incidence of bullying and victimization experiences compared to females. Assessing for psychological functioning had shown higher reports of depression and antisocial personality problems in young adults. Overall findings suggest that people with bullying experiences tend to have more psychological problems compared to people who had no experiences of bullying. Conclusion: The findings suggest that bullying experiences lead to long-term consequences for the victims. There is a need to identify such instances at school level and plan interventions at various stages