School Bullying and Empathy among Preadolescents: A Correlational Study

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between
school bullying and empathy among preadolescents. Bullying was studied
across three dimensions of being a bully, victim, and fighting, whereas
empathy was examined as a unidimensional construct. Data were
collected from preadolescents between ages 10-12 years in District
Haripur. Descriptive statistics, frequencies/percentages, correlation, and
t-tests were performed. The findings showed that there is a negative
relationship between school bullying and empathy, and less empathic
preadolescents were more tended to bully and fight more than more
empathic. An equal number of participants reported fighting with others
and bullying them in one last month. However, a large majority reported
being the victims of bullying 7 or more times in the last 30 days (52,
36.4%). The level of empathy was in the moderate to high range among
178 students and low among 22 students. Boys scored higher on all
dimensions of bullying and were less empathic than girls. These findings
highlight the need for the screening, prevention, and intervention of school
bullying. Can help teachers, parents, school administrators, and counselors
to eradicate aggressive behavior.