Relationships between bullies, victims and mental health issues among adolescents

The main purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between bullies, victims and mental health among adolescents in Maldives. The study investigates the types of bullying and victimization common among adolescent boys and girls. The study also investigate the types of mental health among adolescents in Maldives. Furthermore, this study investigates the moderating effects of gender and age on the relationship between bullies, victims and mental health among adolescents in Maldives. The research adopts a cross sectional quantitative survey method. Adolescents Peer Relation Inventory (APRI) for bullying and Mental Health Index (MHI38) were used as research instruments. A total of 460 survey questionnaires were analyzed in this study. The target group of this study were adolescents between 11 to 16 years. Descriptive data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22 and Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS were used to analysis the hypotheses. Findings suggest that verbal bullying is the most common type of bullying among males and females. Findings on victimization suggests that 85% of adolescents have been targets to all forms of bullying. The relationship between bullying others and mental health revealed a non-recursive relationship whereby, bullying others and mental health have significant negative relationship (-.96) and mental health and bullying others have a significant positive relationship (.96). Findings on moderating factors on the relationship revealed that age and gender does not moderate on this relationship. The study opens new doors for practitioners as well as policies makers on formulating positive interventions strategies such as engaging students in positive behaviours, peer counseling and nurturing empathy so that peers help each other in promoting healthy behaviour in school environment. The study looks through the lens of biopsychosocial model in order to provide insight into bullying. The study provides insight on understanding of the complexity of the life stressors that influence adolescents to engage as bullies and victims

Relationship between bullies, victims and mental health issues among adolescent

The main purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between bullies, victims and mental health among adolescents in Maldives. The study investigates the types of bullying and victimization common among adolescent boys and girls. The study also investigate the types of mental health among adolescents in Maldives. Furthermore, this study investigates the moderating effects of gender and age on the relationship between bullies, victims and mental health among adolescents in Maldives. The research adopts a cross sectional quantitative survey method. Adolescents Peer Relation Inventory (APRI) for bullying and Mental Health Index (MHI38) were used as research instruments. A total of 460 survey questionnaires were analysed in this study. The target group of this study were adolescents between 11 to 16 years. Descriptive data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 22 and Structural Equation Modelling with AMOS were used to analysis the hypotheses. Findings suggest that verbal bullying is the most common type of bullying among males and females. Findings on victimization suggests that 85% of adolescents have been targets to all forms of bullying. The relationship between bullying others and mental health revealed a non-recursive relationship whereby, bullying others and mental health have significant negative relationship (-.96) and mental health and bullying others have a significant positive relationship (.96). Findings on moderating factors on the relationship revealed that age and gender does not moderate on this relationship. The study opens new doors for practitioners as well as policies makers on formulating positive interventions strategies such as engaging students in positive behaviours, peer counselling and nurturing empathy so that peers help each other in promoting healthy behaviour in school environment. The study looks through the lens of bio psychosocial model in order to provide insight into bullying. The study provides insight on understanding of the complexity of the life stressors that influence adolescents to engage as bullies and victims

Relationships between bullies, victims and mental health among adolescents in Maldives

The main purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between bullies, victims and mental health among adolescents in Maldives. The study investigates the types of bullying and victimization common among adolescent boys and girls. The study also investigate the types of mental health among adolescents in Maldives. Furthermore, this study also investigates the moderating effects of gender and age on the relationship between bullies, victims and mental health among adolescents in Maldives. The research adopts a cross sectional quantitative survey method. Adolescents Peer Relation Inventory (APRI) for bullying and Mental Health Index (MHI38) were used as research instruments. A total of 460 survey questionnaires were analyzed in this study. The target group of this study were adolescents between 11 to 16 years. Data were collected from 8 different schools from three provinces in Maldives. Descriptive data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22 and inferential analysis were done using AMOS version 20. Findings on descriptive analysis of bullying behavior indicated that 84% males and 76% females bully others. Verbal bullying is the most common type of bullying among males and females. Findings on victimization suggests that 85% of adolescents have been targets to all forms of bullying. Fifty five percent of adolescents report weak or poor emotional relationships with significant others in their life, while 37% reveals they have low positive affect. The global mental health index of the adolescents in Maldives suggest 24% have poor psychological wellbeing. Findings on the relationship between bullying others and mental health revealed a nonrecursive relationship whereby, bullying others and mental health have significant negative relationship (-.96) and mental health and bullying others have a significant positive relationship (.96).This finding suggests that individuals with poor mental health end up being bullies. Likewise, findings on victimization and mental health reveal that being targets to bullying have a significant positive relationship with mental health. The notion supports biopsychosocial model of stress, as bullying is a stressful event which leaves the individual very vulnerable and helpless. Thus, these feeling will cause negative thoughts which will affect their mental state. Thus, the relationship of bullying and mental health phenomena can be explained in light with Biospychosocial model. However, findings on moderating factors on the relationship revealed that age and gender does not moderate on this relationship. This research will serve as a platform for school authorities and policy makers in developing effective intervention strategies to reduce bullying, victimization and mental health concerns

Exploring social construction experiences through life skills education program during adolescence in Maldives

The main purpose of this study is to describe young adults’ experiences of life skills education program during their adolescence. The study takes on a retrospective approach so that the respondents can reflect on their experiences of life skills education programs. Hence, the study investigates the social construction of the participants’ experiences through a social psychology lens. In order to explore the experiences of the participants, a narrative research methodology is adopted in understanding the participants’ experiences in the program. Two participants’ experiences were collected through semi-structured interviews. A multimethod restorying framework facilitated in transforming the interview transcripts into stories. The social constructivism in social psychology provides a theoretical basis for understanding how realities and views of the world are individual specific and created through social interactions within the individual social environment. Exploring how the participants have constructed their experience of LSE program through their feelings, thoughts and behaviour helped in understanding how the participants’ interactions during the LSE program translated into meaningful skills in future. Most of the described events evolved around their adolescence, their struggle, achievements and the life skills education program experiences in school. Both Shau and Al’s stories reflected how their adolescence, life skills education experiences and their interactions with their families, schools and friends shaped their lives. The type of experiences that both participants had with the life skills education program were subjective in number of ways such as age of exposure, number of life skills programs, delivery method and also the social environment. Findings of the research suggests that life skill approach is an important approach to transmitting knowledge, attitudes and skills to real life problem situations. However, it is the interactive experiences in the society and its people that shapes the individual’s thinking, attitude and provides a sense of purpose in life. This insight deepens the understanding of the life skills education program and helps in identifying the gaps in delivery of the program. It also signals that there are priorities and concerns regarding the future of LSE program in the Maldives. The study also has implications for stake holder and policy makers in designing, implementing and delivery of age appropriate structured LSE program from early on their adolescence. As this is a process study the findings of the study helps in generating hypothesis for future research in life skills education. It is also important to conduct similar studies to collect stories not only from young adults, but also from high risk adolescents who are already exposed to drugs and smoking to better understand the issues related to them and also the level of transfer of skills in them. Mixed method studies can be conducted to evaluate the program effectiveness and to understand which skills are required most at different stages of individuals’ life

Bullying in Maldives: effects on adolescents mental health

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework based on extensive literature review on bullying in Maldives and effects on adolescents’ mental health. This study is based on biopsychosocial model of development. It explores the relationship between biological and social changes that take place during adolescences and the role in individual functioning with regard to promoting health and causing illnesses. Based on literature review, bullying is conceputalized as repeated intentional exposure to physical, verbal and relational/social harassment. Well-being of health that may be affected by bullying were identified as (a) anxiety, (b) Depression (c) Loss of behavioural / Emotional control (d) General Positive Affect (e) Emotional Ties (f) Life satisfaction. Further research may lead to understanding of why some children do not report or stand up to being bullied, why some children bully others and why some bystanders do not report bullying incidences. The research yields a theoretical understanding of how biology, psychology and social environment interact in bullying scenarios. This will facilitate in developing bullying framework and intervention strategies

A narrative systematic review of life skills education: effectiveness, research gaps and priorities

A systematic review was conducted to investigate the literature on effectiveness of life skills programs. The aim of this review was to gain a comprehensive understanding on the effectiveness of life skills education globally, and to identify research gaps and priorities. Findings revealed differences in life skills education within developing countries and developed countries. In general, developed countries conduct more systematic life skills education programs promoting positive behavior, with research articulating outcomes on individual youth. In contrast, the majority of developing countries’ life skills programs lack systematic implementation, evaluation and monitoring. Programs are often conducted to yield short term results only. This review will be useful to administrators, policy makers, researchers and teachers to implement effective life skills programs. The findings can be used as inputs for developing sustainable life skills programs to ensure transfer of knowledge and skills

Constructing the Life Skills Education Experiences of Maldivian Adolescents: Exploring Personal Narratives of Transition, Challenge, and Becoming

Life skills have been shown to help young people cope with challenges and facilitate their transition into adulthood. Few studies have explored life skills programs from the lived experiences of youth themselves. Using a retrospective narrative analysis approach, this study uses social construction and social learning theories to investigate how young people construct their experiences of life skills education in the context of their embedded social environments, including their relationships with family, school, and peers. The study incorporates a series of in-depth, face-to-face, and social media-based interviews with two young adults from the Maldives who had very different experiences in life skills programs. Capturing the participants’ subjective experiences of life skills over time, and in the context of their transition to adulthood, allowed us to make situated connections between program experiences and the participants’ everyday lives. The findings point to the importance of program duration and directly link program content to adolescents’ real-world experiences including critical life incidents, the need to provide more structure in the delivery of programs, and the importance of ensuring that program experiences align with relevant skills and competencies. Potential implications for life skills education programs are outlined

COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy.</jats:p