Psychosocial challenges and coping strategies of bully-victims among students in Kwara state, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the psychosocial challenges and coping strategies of bully-victims among secondary school students in Kwara State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey was adopted. With a sample of 396 bully-victims which were selected using proportionate, stratified and snowball sampling techniques. The findings revealed that they experienced more psychological challenges than social challenges, such as anxiety, anger control issues, and difficulty forgetting bullied experiences. Bully-victims adopted more aggressive, social, and cognitive coping strategies than helpless strategies. There were no significant differences in psychosocial challenges based on age and school type, but differences existed based on gender. Significant differences also existed in coping strategies based on gender, age, and school type. The study recommended developing problem-solving strategies for bully-victims and addressing their psychological, social, and behavioral issues concurrently.