Objective - To examine the relationship between bullying and
difficulties in psychological adjustment among elementary school
students due to their role in bullying behavior, arousal level
and strategies of coping with bullying behavior. Methods - The
study was conducted on a convenience sample of 478 primary
school children (232 girls and 246 boys), 11 to 15 years of age.
A School Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) was used to assess
direct, verbal and relational forms of bullying. To determine
the coping strategies we used the Self – Report Coping Measure
(SRCM). The arousal level was assessed by The Arousal Predisposition
Scale (APS), while Youth Self-Report (YSR) was used
for assessing current psychological adjustment. Results - The
present study identified 29% of children involved in bullying;
14% of children were categorized as victims, 7% as bullies and
8% as bully/victims. There was statistically significant combined
effect of the role of victims and bully/victims, levels of arousal
and coping strategies with bullying (internalizing, externalizing,
and distancing) on difficulties in psychological adjustment.
Conclusion - Based on the results of this study, we can conclude
that bullying as psychosocial stress is an important risk factor for
psychological problems in childhood. At the same time, coping
strategies are important determinants of successful adaptation.