Final Proposal

2

Results and Discussion: The Impact of School Bullying on Students’ Academic Achievement

Martha Ramsey

Saint Leo University

Advanced Social Psychology: PSY-540

Instructor Cathleen Dunn

April 23, 2023

RESULTS

This study aimed to examine if there was any association between performance and bullying at school. This was done using a variety of statistical methods and indicators. Specifically, the study looked at suburban middle school students and examined how often study participants had experienced bullying using the Peer Victimization Scale (PVS) filled in via questionnaires.

Data was collected through self-reporting and school records. PVS was used to measure the frequency of bullying. It asked participants to indicate how often they had experienced physical, verbal, and interpersonal bullying over the past 12 months on a scale from 0 (none) to 5 (a number of times weekly). Student academic performance was measured by overall averages obtained from previous grade school records, including all subjects participants took.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics.

	Mean	Standard Deviation
GPA	3.25	0.68
PVS	1.72	1.28

A few descriptive statistics were calculated, the sample had a mean GPA of 3.25 (SD=0.68) and a mean PVS score of 1.72 (SD=1.28).

Table 2: ANOVA

S	SS	df	MS	F	p-value
Between groups	219.95	1	219.95	35.308	<0.001
Within groups	2479.18	398	6.23
Total	2699.13	399

One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed with GPA as the dependent variable and PVS score as the independent variable to examine the relationship between school bullying and academic performance. Results showed a significant effect of PVS score on grade point average (F(1, 398) = 35.308, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.083). The F value is 35.308, suggesting that there is a significant difference in the means of GPA and PVS. The small p-value (<0.001) further confirms this result. Specifically, students who experienced bullying had a lower GPA (Mean=2.98, SD=0.75) compared to those who did not experience bullying (Mean=3. 9, SD=0.50).

DISCUSSION

The results of this study support the hypothesis that students who have experienced bullying perform worse in school than those who have not been bullied and are consistent with previous research on this issue. The negative effects of bullying on school performance underscore the importance of effective interventions that promote positive school environments free of bullying. Such interventions should be targeted to the culture and climate of the school and focused on developing social support systems that foster positive interaction among students.

The study's limitations included the use of self-reported measures and the inability to generalize the results to other populations. Some students were also not comfortable with the questions because perhaps their pains were still fresh, and reliving the memories of getting bullied was upsetting. Self-reports may not always be reliable and may not fully capture the frequency and intensity of bullying incidents. Future research should utilize objective measures like standardized tests and teacher assessments to gather more dependable data. Specific information regarding the frequency and intensity of bullying can be obtained through teacher evaluations and direct observation of bullying behaviour. Future research are advised to involve participants from various racial and geographic backgrounds in order to extend the generalization of the findings. The research findings, on the other hand, emphasize the necessity of efficient interventions to reduce the detrimental effects of bullying on academic performance. In order to promote the wellbeing and academic performance of all students, legislators, school administrators and instructors should try and emphasize such interventions without fail.