Bullying in Secondary School as a Determinant in Psychological Development of Young Adults

Objectives – To understand whether bullying in secondary school can influence the natural progression of psychological development between adolescence and young adulthood.

Methods – A retrospective bullying survey was administered to students of a large four-year university. The survey asked students to recall their past bullying experiences in high school and also asked them a series of questions to assess their scores on the psychosocial development stages of “identity” and “intimacy” as postulated by the psychologist Erik Erikson, and measured by Rosenthal and colleagues. The resulting “identity” and “intimacy” constructs were validated with factor analysis and measured for reliability with Cronbach's alpha. The constructs were then included in a structural equation model with an indicator variable of whether a participant stated they were bullied in secondary school.

Results – The “identity” construct had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.882. The “intimacy” construct had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.807. Being bullied in secondary school was negatively associated (β = -0.30, p <0.001) with scores on the “identity” construct, and explained r2 = 0.09 of the variation in the “identity” construct. Scores on the “identity” construct were positively associated (β = 0.50, p <0.001) with scores on the “intimacy” construct, and explained r2 = 0.25 of the variation in the “intimacy” construct Conclusion – Bullying in secondary school is associated with a diminished sense of “identity” which is important to the development of “intimacy.” This finding suggests psychological development in later stages of life is effected by experiences of bullying in secondary school.