📄 social_science

Prevalence, types, consequences and factors that affect bullying among public secondary school students in Enugu Metropolis, Enugu State, Nigeria: An observational study

This observational study of public secondary school students in Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria, reveals that over half of the participants have experienced or engaged in bullying—primarily verbal abuse and physical assault—with significant associations found between bullying behaviors and factors such as age, school level, family setting, and parental education, highlighting an urgent need for stronger anti-bullying policies and increased supervision.

Original authors: Hope Obiageli Nwoga, Gloria Chizoba Eze, Gabriel Chukwuemeka Umeh

Published 2026-07-06

📖 5 min read🧠 Deep dive

CC BY 4.0

Original authors: Hope Obiageli Nwoga, Gloria Chizoba Eze, Gabriel Chukwuemeka Umeh

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

Imagine a school not just as a place for learning math and history, but as a bustling ecosystem, like a large, busy beehive. In this hive, most bees get along, but sometimes, a few bees start pushing, shoving, or buzzing aggressively at others. This study, conducted in the "hive" of Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria, is like a detailed inspection of that beehive to understand how often this happens, what kind of "buzzing" occurs, and what makes some bees more likely to push or get pushed.

Here is a breakdown of what the researchers found, using simple comparisons:

The Big Picture: How Common is the Pushing?

The researchers asked 280 students (mostly teenagers aged 14 to 16) to fill out a secret survey. They found that bullying is everywhere.

The Victim Count: More than half of the students (54.6%) said, "Yes, I have been bullied before."
The Pusher Count: Interestingly, about 23% admitted, "Yes, I have bullied someone."
The Analogy: Think of it like a game of tag. In this school, more than half the players have been "it" (bullied), and a significant chunk of the players have been the ones chasing (bullying). The researchers noted that the number of bullies might actually be higher in real life, but students are often too scared to admit they are the "chasers" because they don't want to get in trouble.

What Does the Bullying Look Like?

The study looked at the different "tools" bullies use.

The Most Common Tool: Verbal Abuse (68.2%). This is like a bully using their voice as a weapon—calling names, insulting, or mocking. It's the most frequent because it leaves no bruises, making it harder for teachers to catch, but it hurts just as much.
The Second Most Common: Physical Assault (44.6%). This is the classic pushing, shoving, or hitting.
The Digital Tool: About 27% experienced bullying on social media (WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.). This is like the bullying following the student home, even after the school bell rings.
The Rare Tool: Sexual assault was reported by a very small number (4.3%).

Where and When Does It Happen?

If you were to draw a map of the school where the "scary zones" are, the study found:

The "No-Man's Land": The most dangerous spot isn't the classroom or the cafeteria; it's the bushes around the school (27.9%). It's like the dark alley behind the playground where no one is watching.
The Time: It often happens when students are in a higher grade than the victim. It's like an older, bigger kid picking on a younger one.
The Perpetrators: Boys are more likely to be the ones doing the bullying, though girls do it too.

The Aftermath: What Happens to the Students?

Being bullied is like carrying a heavy, invisible backpack that gets heavier every day. The study found that this backpack causes:

Social Isolation: The most common result (54.6%) is that students just want to be alone. They withdraw from friends and stop joining in, like a bird that stops singing and hides in a tree.
Mental Health: Many students feel depressed (34.6%) or feel like they aren't good enough.
School Trouble: Bullying acts like a fog over a student's brain. 16.4% of students said they failed a test or exam because of it. Some even missed school because they felt unsafe (14.6%) or thought about dropping out (15.0%).
The Darkest Thought: A small but serious number (8.2%) had thoughts of suicide because of the pain.

Why Does It Happen? (The Factors)

The researchers tried to find out what makes a student more likely to be a "pusher" or a "pushed."

For the Bullies (The Pushers):
- Age and Grade: Older students (14–16) and those in specific classes (like JSS 3) were more likely to bully. It's like the older kids in a playground feeling the need to show off their power.
- School Type: Students from a military-style school (Command Day Secondary School) were more likely to bully. The researchers suggest the strict, hierarchical nature of military environments might encourage dominance.
- Family: Students from monogamous homes (one mom, one dad) were more likely to be bullies, though this might just be because most students in the study came from such homes.
For the Victims (The Pushed):
- Gender: Boys were more likely to be bullied than girls in this specific study.
- Family Background: Students whose mothers or fathers were traders or had lower levels of education were more likely to be bullied. It's as if the family's social standing or job type made the student a target.
- Habits: Students who smoked or inhaled substances were more likely to be bullied.

The Bottom Line

The study concludes that bullying in these schools is a serious, frequent problem that isn't just "kids being kids." It's a cycle that hurts mental health, ruins grades, and makes students want to hide or leave school entirely.

The authors suggest that to fix this "broken hive," schools need to:

Watch the Bushes: Increase supervision in unsupervised areas like the bushes and restrooms.
Make New Rules: Create stronger policies against bullying.
Call Home: Get parents more involved.
Talk it Out: Provide counseling and peer support so students don't have to carry that heavy backpack alone.

The study is a snapshot in time (like a photo), so it can't prove exactly why one thing causes another, but it clearly shows that bullying is a widespread issue with deep roots and serious consequences for the students in Enugu.

Technical Summary: Prevalence, Types, Consequences, and Factors Affecting Bullying in Enugu Metropolis

Problem Statement
Bullying is defined as purposeful, repeated inappropriate behavior intended to intimidate and cause harm, posing a significant public health risk and a barrier to academic engagement. While global data indicates high prevalence rates, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (ranging from 16% to 63%), the specific dynamics of bullying in Nigerian public secondary schools remain under-researched. Existing literature suggests that factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and family structure influence bullying, yet there is a lack of localized data in Enugu State to inform targeted interventions. This study addresses the gap by investigating the prevalence, specific types, consequences, and associated factors of bullying among public secondary school students in Enugu Metropolis.

Methodology
The study employed a school-based descriptive cross-sectional design conducted in Enugu Metropolis, covering three Local Government Areas (Enugu East, Enugu North, and Enugu South).

Population and Sampling: The target population included junior and senior secondary students. A two-stage sampling technique was utilized. First, one public secondary school was randomly selected from each of the three LGAs: Government Technical College (Enugu North), Command Day Secondary School (Enugu East), and Uwani Girls Secondary School (Enugu South). Second, proportionate allocation was used to select 280 students (108, 105, and 67 respectively) from these schools, stratified by class (JSS 1–3 and SSS 1–3). Systematic sampling was then applied within classes.
Instrument: Data was collected using a pretested, self-administered questionnaire comprising four sections: sociodemographic characteristics, prevalence, types of bullying, and consequences.
Procedure: Data collection occurred over one month (January 11–February 10, 2025) during school break periods. The response rate was 100%.
Analysis: Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means) summarized variables. The Chi-square test was used to determine associations between sociodemographic variables and bullying status (perpetrator or victim), with a significance level set at $p \leq 0.05$ .

Key Results

Demographics: The mean age of participants was $14.3 \pm 2$ years. The majority were female (54.3%), resided in urban areas (90.4%), were Christian (98.2%), and lived with their parents (67.9%). Most families were monogamous (90.0%).
Prevalence:
- Awareness: 88.9% of students had heard of bullying, and 89.6% understood the concept.
- Victimization: 54.6% of students reported having been bullied previously. Among victims, 36.6% experienced bullying more than five times in the past 12 months.
- Perpetration: 22.9% of students admitted to having bullied someone.
- Context: Bullying was most frequently reported to occur in "bushes around the school" (27.9%). Perpetrators were most often from a higher grade (46.4%) and were predominantly male (27.5% reported as "mainly by a boy").
Types of Bullying:
- Verbal Abuse: The most common form, experienced by 68.2% of respondents.
- Physical Assault: Reported by 44.6%.
- Relational/Social: Spreading rumors or exclusion affected 43.2%.
- Cyberbullying: Social media bullying affected 26.8%, while text/phone harassment affected 35.7%.
- Sexual Violence: 4.3% reported experiencing rape in school.
Consequences:
- Social/Psychological: The most common consequence was social seclusion (54.6%), followed by depression (34.6%) and social withdrawal (31.4%). Suicidal thoughts were reported by 8.2%.
- Academic: 16.4% of students reported failing a quiz or exam due to bullying. 14.6% missed school due to feeling unsafe, and 15.0% wished to drop out.
Associated Factors:
- Being a Bully: Significantly associated with age ( $p=0.002$ ), specific school attended ( $p=0.009$ ), class level ( $p=0.003$ ), and family setting ( $p=0.040$ ).
- Being Bullied: Significantly associated with gender ( $p=0.006$ ), mother's educational level ( $p=0.017$ ), mother's occupation ( $p=0.005$ ), father's occupation ( $p=0.009$ ), and substance use ( $p=0.024$ ).

Significance and Conclusions
The study concludes that bullying is a pervasive issue in Enugu Metropolis, affecting more than half of the student population, often repeatedly. The authors assert that the most common forms are verbal abuse, physical aggression, and social exclusion, with cyberbullying emerging as a significant concern due to increased mobile phone access.

The paper highlights that bullying is not merely a behavioral issue but one with severe consequences, including social isolation, depression, suicidal ideation, and academic decline (absenteeism and poor performance). The authors identify specific risk factors, noting that boys are more likely to be both perpetrators and victims, and that socioeconomic factors (parental occupation and education) play a critical role in victimization.

Based on these findings, the authors claim an urgent need for:

Stronger anti-bullying policies within schools.
Increased supervision, particularly in unsupervised areas like school perimeters.
Greater parental involvement and community awareness campaigns.
Intervention programs including peer support, counseling, and teacher training.

The study acknowledges limitations inherent to its cross-sectional design, noting that it cannot establish causality, and potential biases related to self-reporting and recall. However, it posits that understanding these local risk factors is essential for implementing effective preventive measures in Nigerian secondary schools.