Coping Strategies Used by Tertiary Education Students to Counter Bullying
The Prevalence of Bullying, and cyber bullying has become progressively higher with the advances in technology, mounting use of the internet and mobile phone usage dramatically increasing. Current research shows that there are insufficient preventative measures and current laws to keep up with this new ‘growing phenomenon’. (Goff 2011). The underlying point of interest is whether self esteem levels, and coping strategies of emotional focused, or problem focused are exclusively linked, and how these coping strategies affect an individual’s self-esteem outcomes. However, cyber bullying is rather unique in its form, gaining greater attention in previous years, due to more use of technology in university students and greater access to these facilities.
Bullying and self esteem are intertwined as research conducted by Patchin and Hinduja (2010) consistently shows victims of bullying are subject to lower self esteem than non victims of bullying. In this research it was also discovered that males often show slightly higher levels of self-esteem than females, thus showing a minimal significance between gender and self-esteem. Also in these findings, it was concluded that regardless of being a victim or offender self esteem levels were much lower than those who do not fit into either of these categories. Schenk and Fremouw (2012) too conducted research between 799 college students who were surveyed online, finding that 8.6% of these students were subject to cyber-bullying. The general coping strategy evident was to tell someone, whilst avoiding other friends and acquaintances in the process. The findings of this research showed negative impacts upon victims in regards to cyber-bullying. Research also shows that cyber-bullying and bullying continues to seep through young adolescence and prevail into young adult hood, The majority of older participants also reported being cyber bullied when 18-year-olds: 72%; 19- to 25-year-olds: 50%).’(Price and Dalgleish 2010) This
Bullying and self esteem are intertwined as research conducted by Patchin and Hinduja (2010) consistently shows victims of bullying are subject to lower self esteem than non victims of bullying. In this research it was also discovered that males often show slightly higher levels of self-esteem than females, thus showing a minimal significance between gender and self-esteem. Also in these findings, it was concluded that regardless of being a victim or offender self esteem levels were much lower than those who do not fit into either of these categories. Schenk and Fremouw (2012) too conducted research between 799 college students who were surveyed online, finding that 8.6% of these students were subject to cyber-bullying. The general coping strategy evident was to tell someone, whilst avoiding other friends and acquaintances in the process. The findings of this research showed negative impacts upon victims in regards to cyber-bullying. Research also shows that cyber-bullying and bullying continues to seep through young adolescence and prevail into young adult hood, The majority of older participants also reported being cyber bullied when 18-year-olds: 72%; 19- to 25-year-olds: 50%).’(Price and Dalgleish 2010) This