BULLYING VICTIMIZATION AS A DETERMINANT OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS IN ADOLESCENT STUDENTS

The objective of the present study is to explore that bullying victimization is a significant predictor of emotional distress, depression and anxiety in adolescent students. Sample for the present study was 200 adolescents. The age range of the entire sample was from 13 to 18 years and their education standard was from 6th grade to 12th grade. The sample was selected through simple random sampling technique from various private and government educational institutions across Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan. For the assessment of bullying Illinois Bullying Scale (IBS by Espelage & Holt, 2001), and for the evolution of the emotional distress, depression and anxiety the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS 21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) were used. Linear regression analysis indicated that bullying victimization is a significant predictor of emotional distress(R = .41; R2= .16; F=41.48; P < 0.01) in adolescents. Further, the results also indicate that bullying victimization is a significant predictor of depression (R = .35; R2= .12; F= 27.77; P < 0.01), and second, bullying victimization is a significant predictor of anxiety (R = .36; R2= .12; F= 28.29; P < 0.01) in adolescents.