Theses (MSc. Public Health)

Introduction: Bullying in school is prevalent in many countries around the world. The impact of bullying gives out negative consequences such as depressive symptoms towards psychological health and development of adolescents. More research in bullying victimization and depressive symptoms among adolescents needed in Malaysia. Objective: To determine the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms among secondary school students. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 355 students from two secondary schools in Simpang Ampat, Penang. The study was conducted for two weeks in March 2015. Stratified simple random sampling was used to select the respondents. Self-administered questionnaire that contains socio-demographic variables, perceived academic performance, Adolescent Peer Relation Instrument scale and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for children were used to detect the prevalence and variables that were associated. Results: Significant association was found between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Physical, verbal and social bullying victimization were significantly associated. Variables that were significantly associated with bullying victimization were age, father’s education level and perceived academic performance. Gender, perceived academic performance and social bullying victimization were statistically significant with depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The prevalence of bullying victimization was 82.8% and out of this proportion, 54.5% of secondary school students were found to have depressive symptoms. Being a female student, those who perceived below average for their academic performance and socially bullied were the statistically significant variables of depressive symptoms among secondary school students under the multivariate analysis. These significant variables are important for the development of intervention programs to prohibit negative effects towards adolescents. Awareness campaign about the nature of bullying and its effects among secondary school students needed. Keywords : Bullying victimization, depressive symptoms, secondary school students