UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN MARACAS ROYAL ROAD

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN
MARACAS ROYAL ROAD, MARACAS, ST. JOSEPH
The Psychological Effects of Bullying on Secondary School Students in South Trinidad
An Assignment
Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
EDPC 699 – Thesis/Research Project
Norian Swaby Robinson
By

Ricky Sieupersad
2010020025
February 5, 2018
Approval……………

Bullying in Secondary Schools
This study have identified some of the psychological effects of bullying on secondary school students in south Trinidad in the county of Victoria, the researcher having administered questionnaires adapted from the Kansas State Department of Education School Wide Bullying Survey (Reed, 2016), to five schools in schools namely San Fernando West Secondary School, Gasparillo Secondary School, Pleasantville Secondary School, Marabella South Secondary School and Southern Academy of Seventh-Day Adventists. Having collected and analyzed the data recommendations have been made to reduce these effects. In other studies, it has been noted that students within the Secondary school’s system who are affected by bullying, either directly or indirectly, tend to become depressed, socially isolated, withdrawn, truancy. Some of the students become delinquent, violent exhibit signs of, violence, anxiety and in some cases suicide.
Having reviewed extensive literature on the subject matter it can be concluded that there has been little research has been done about bullying in Trinidad, especially in the southern region of the country. This study was necessary because of the upsurge in bullying that is being broadcast via social media and television, and there seemed to be little or no implementation or policies to affect students that are being bullied.

The theoretical framework used in this research was Bandura’s social learning theory which postulates that children learn by observation. Children model the behaviours of the persons around them who they look to for guidance; they then portray what was learned when socializing with their peers. When children observe adults, engaging in violent behaviours they will also behave the same way. Another theory used was Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) ecological systems theory which states that the first form of learning and socialization is the home and children display to the wider society what is learned within the walls of the home.
The implementation of the recommendations made in this research will assist both the perpetrators and victims of bullying to overcome their challenges and move forward in life to be productive citizens of the country.

The expected outcome of this research was to highlight the psychological effects of Bullying on first and second year students in the Secondary School, in order to assist both the perpetrators and victims of bullying to overcome their challenges and move on in life in order to be productive citizens of the country. The researcher has made recommendations which can be useful in stemming the wave of bullying in the earlier years of secondary school, which will help both victims and perpetrators to a successful completion of their high school education and beyond. Therefore, it is hoped that with the information gleaned through this research will assist both victims and perpetrators to become aware of the psychological effects that it is having on them as students, and the school.

Having completed the research the findings can be used to raise the awareness of the topic of bullying to the population the causal factors, the victims suffering and it is hoped that within the education system mandatory counseling for students also lectures on the effects and consequences of bullying are introduced into the nation’s curriculum.

It is also hoped that the information produced from this research can cause anti bullying campaign to commence in all schools both primary and secondary schools. It is also hoped that parents be educated on the signs and symptoms of bullying and seek help for their children who have been identified as victims and or victim and perpetrator. Also, a life line set up for reporting and counseling children who are either victims or perpetrators.

Background to the problem
About one-third of middle school children worldwide (roughly ages 13 to 15 years) report having been the victim of a bully in the past month. Bullies abuse another child using physical attacks such as hitting or pushing, verbal attacks such as name-calling and threatening, and/or indirect acts of relational aggression such as the spreading of cruel rumours or social exclusion. Bullying is characterized by repeated, intentional acts of aggression stemming from a power imbalance between a perpetrator and his or her victim. As a result, the same child might simultaneously be an aggressor in one relationship and a victim in another CITATION HAA12 l 11273 (HA Abdirahman, Bah, Shrestha, ; Jacobsen, 2012).

The social costs of bullying are high. Thousands of children and youth avoid going to school every day because they are afraid of the bullying they can expect to endure daily. The suicides of children and young people are becoming tragically familiar news items in countries around the world. The costs of bullying extend beyond the torment of the targeted student. Bystanders are intimidated because they are afraid they will be next. Aggressive students also pay a price: studies show that a majority of boys who act as bullies in the middle grades have a high percentage of criminal convictions by the time they are in their mid-twenties. In addition to these costs, academic achievement falls when students do not feel safe in their schools or communitiesCITATION Tri l 11273 (Trichel, 2013).

To date, there has been very little data collected to systematically explore the nature and extent of bullying and violence in schools in Trinidad and Tobago and to determine which risk factors are the most important in the formulation of intervention programmes. Despite this, there is a growing recognition that bullying and violence are reaching critical levels in the nation’s schools.
Statement of the problem
Bullying is a problem that affects almost all students at some point in time, either as the bully, the victim, or a witness. Bullying may include verbal, physical assaults, threats, jokes or language, mockery and criticizing, insulting behaviour and facial expressions. All of such factors work either individually, or collectively, contributing to the students’ likelihood of bullying. It is well known that bullying is difficult to eliminate or to stop it in schools because it is used by students. Bullying at school has various impacts on students who are primary and secondary victims. A primary victim is one whom the act has been perpetrated on and a secondary victim is one who has witnessed the act and felt helpless to protect the victim.

The key issue being studied is the psychological effect of bullying on Secondary Schools Students in the area of south Trinidad. Over the past 7 years, there has been an increase in news stories capturing the local newspapers. A synopsis, these are headlines from local newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago are as follows:
-Trinidad Express on December 09, 2010 stated “Gang violence in school”
– Guardian on April 24, 2011, proclaimed “Two choices: Educate or incarcerate them”. Yet another heading in the
– Guardian on February 18, 2011, stated: “Form one student beats his teacher”.
-Guardian February 04, 2014 headline reads “School violence at Presentation College: One stabbed and another slits wrist”.
-Most recently, the Newsday headline dated October 10, 2017 ‘Siparia West bullies suspended’.

It is clear from these headlines that bullying is widely becoming the norm in Schools, and more has to be done to understand the nature of this phenomenon. Further to this, the bullying is not gendered specific, in terms of perpetrator or victim. A survey conducted by (HA Abdirahman, et al.2012) same revealed that for the month of July 2012 of the 2920 students who were surveyed 21.2 % reported being bullied and 48. 4 % were boys and 51.6 % are girls. From the statistics, it can be inferred that bullied victims are both males and females.

Review of Literature, such as Hemphill et al. (2011) and Kosciw et al. (2013) gleaned that being victims of bullying is highly correlated with binge drinking and depression as well as low self-esteem. Ouellet-Morin (2011) reports that physical maltreatment has long-lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) reactivity that is associated with social, emotional, and behavioural problems.
Children who were from an unstable family structure which includes a family experience of divorce, single parenthood, presence of stepparents or separated parents were at higher risk for both bullying and being bullied as well, as were children from dysfunctional families where they experienced violence, maltreatment, or parental neglect (Putt, 2013).

Research questions and hypothesis
The expected outcomes of this research are to assist both the perpetrators and victims of bullying to overcome their challenges and move forward in life to be productive citizens of the country. The expected outcome of this research is to highlight the psychological effects of Bullying on first and second year students in the Secondary School, in order to assist both the perpetrators and victims of bullying to overcome their challenges and move on in life in order to be productive citizens of the country. The researcher I envisage that as bullying and the psychological problems associated with bullying are related, such that bullying decreases as psychological problems associated with bullying decreases. Other objectives include
The extent to which bullying is prevalent in secondary schools within south Trinidad.

The type of aggression associated with bullying and what are the underlying motives of the perpetrators.

The extent to which bully occurs in Form 1 students when compared to Form 2 Students
Hypotheses
1.(Ho) There is no relationship between bullying and the psychological effects on students within Form one and two in secondary schools in South Trinidad.

2.(H02) There is no relationship between gender and bullying of students within Form one and two in secondary schools in South Trinidad.

3.(H03) There is no significant difference between Form 1 and Form 2 Students who experience bullying.

The researcher will also make recommendations to stem the wave of bullying in the earlier years of secondary school, which will continue through to completion of their high school education. Therefore, it is hoped that with the information gleaned through the research will assist both victims and perpetrators to become aware of the psychological effects that it is having on them as students, and the school.

Upon completion of the research, the findings can be used to raise the awareness of the topic of bullying to the population the causal factors, the victims suffering and it is hoped that within the education system mandatory counseling for students also lectures on the effects and consequences of bullying are introduced into the nation’s curriculum.

It is also hoped that the information produced from this research can cause anti bullying campaign to commence in all schools both primary and secondary schools. It is also hoped that parents be educated on the signs and symptoms of bullying and seek help for their children who have been identified as victims and or victim and perpetrator. Also, a life line set up for reporting and counseling children who are either victims or perpetrators.

Definition of Terms
The following words and phrases are defined or give explanations as used in this paper. This they are put into the scale of contextual meaning. However, the researcher strives as much as possible not to deviate totally from their conceptual meaning.

The following words and phrases are defined or give explanations as used in this paper. This they are put into the scale of contextual meaning. However, the researcher strives as much as possible not to deviate totally from their conceptual meaning.

School Bullying: school bullying as the repeated exposure over time to harmful actions of one or more students.
Bullying: consists of both relational aggression and physical aggression. Relational aggression includes behaviours such as rumour spreading, taunting, and threatening to withdraw friendship, while physical aggression includes behaviours such as hitting and pushing.
Psychological: relating to, characteristic of, directed toward, influencing, arising in, or acting through the mind especially in its affective or cognitive functions.

Psychological effects: include depression, social isolation and withdrawal, truancy, thoughts of revenge, poor academic performance, delinquency, violence, anxiety and other psychological conditions and suicide.

Age: is defined as an individual’s development measured in terms of the year’s requisite for like development of an average individual.
Gender is defined as a socially constructed definition of women and men.
Child: A child means a person how is under the age of eighteen years.

Secondary school student: A student who is registered and attending a secondary school within Trinidad and Tobago.
Assumption
In this study, the researcher assumes that the students will disseminate to the researcher a true, valid and reliable information about domestic violence, the frequency of the bullying, the type of bullying experienced and where it occurs. It is also assumed that the perpetrators and victims attend the same school and live in the same community.

Limitations
Due to the limited research conducted in Trinidad and Tobago on this topic, there is not much statistical evidence to support or deny the research. Also, the research being conducted in schools even though the tool to be used is self-report questionnaires the participants may give incorrect information and some may choose not to answer all the questions.

The schools selected for the study all were from south Trinidad in the county of Victoria, having interacted with the School Principals and teachers it should be noted that two of the Government schools namely San Fernando West Secondary School and Marbella South Secondary School the entry at the SEA level is under 60%, and it was the assumption from them that within their interaction with the parents many of the parents may have problems understanding the consent forms.

The students weren’t required to place their name on the questionnaire, therefore, the demographics such as age ethnicity gender and form may not be a true reflection of the individual. However, the researcher has reported on the information given by the participants.

Due to the researcher receiving late approval from the Ministry of Education the schools identified were all in the process of writing end of term examination the researcher was only able to interact with a limited cross section of the form ones and twos, even though the researcher met the target population distributing the consent forms the return was low in two schools namely Marabella South Secondary School and San Fernando West Secondary School.

Significance of the study
Schools are institutions of learning, where the children of today are the future leaders of the nation and should be afforded the opportunity to explore and reach their fullest potential academically, sadly bullying is an evil that lives within the walls of the schools, children who are perpetrators intentionally attack the victims causing the victims to live a life of constant fear. This results in the victims suffering from depression, social isolation and withdrawal, truancy, thoughts of revenge, poor academic performance, delinquency, violence, anxiety and other psychological conditions and suicide.

The results of this research should publicize bullying perpetrated against school children within the secondary schools in the County of Victoria, this problem directly or indirectly has numerous victims with one episode. The result of this research will be an added advantage to governments stand on the child’s protection and care, if it shows a significant influence. Parents, guardians, teachers, other caregivers and the general public will find the result of this study useful, as it will reveal to them the need for effective care and protection of their children, especially the importance of providing educational needs for a higher academic performance. The research will also be a resource of value to other researchers carrying out research on the topic or similar subject matter also, beneficial to school guidance officers and social workers.

Summary
This study will bring to the nation’s attention the effects of psychological effects bullying on secondary school children in the educational district of County Victoria. It highlights the types of bullying, the effects of bullying and what can be done to assist the victims and their family to overcome this epidemic.

CHAPTER 2:
REVIEW OF LITERATURE ; THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Introduction
The chapter provides a review of the literature on the effects of bullying on students in general over time. It provides information on what various authors have noted or realized from the background of bullying and its relation to victim’s depression, social isolation and withdrawal, truancy, thoughts of revenge, poor academic performance, delinquency, violence, anxiety and other psychological conditions and suicide.

Literature Search Strategy
An electronic search for articles indexed in the databases, in order to characterize the scientific literature on the effects of bullying on children academic performance, was performed using the following indicators: year, country, victims of bullying, problems associated with exposure to bullying, types of bullying, low academic performance associated with bullying, bullying in secondary schools, the psychological effects of bullying. Also, the Forde Library at the University of the Southern Caribbean and the Trinidad and Tobago Public Library was utilized to obtain research materials.

The electronic search was conducted in the following databases: Medline (publications which deals with health sciences in general), Web of Science (multidisciplinary database that aggregates content from journals of greater academic impact from different academic sectors; Google Scholar (database created by Google, which can search in multiple languages, providing links to libraries of various universities); and PsycInfo (offers psychological literature, linked to the American Psychological Association). Refseek an academic search engine for students and researchers it locates relevant academic search results from web pages, books, encyclopaedias, and journals, and EBSCO search. These were chosen so as to obtain publications from the most diverse countries and to try to identify the impact of this theme in publications worldwide.

The following search terms were entered in each database: bullying, types of bullying, victims of bullying, academic performance, academic achievement which was searched in the titles and/ or abstracts of the publications. This search was done by entering the years 2007 to present.

Having reviewed, the literature on bullying the word “bully” can be traced back as far as the 1530s (Donegan, 2012). Defining the term ‘bullying’ can be challenging as authors’ views on the topic seem to vary significantly, bullying is universally accepted as deliberate and unjustified physical or emotional violence. In its most basic sense bullying involves two people, a bully or intimidator, and a victim. The bully abuses the victim through physical, verbal, or other means in order to gain a sense of superiority and power (Donegan, 2012). Swart and Bredekamp (2009) describe bullying as a group phenomenon within which children play a variety of roles, including that of the aggressor, victim, observer, defender, and bully-victim. Sulillvan (2011) defines bullying as a conscious, willful and repetitive act of aggression and/or manipulation and/or exclusion by one or more persons against another person or people.

Bullying is any unwanted aggressive behaviour by other youth or group of youths who are not a sibling or current dating partners that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is likely to be repeated. Bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social, or educational harm CITATION Hin14 l 11273 (Hinduja ; Patchin, 2014).

The theoretical framework used in this research was Bandura’s social learning theory which postulates that children learn by observation. This theory describes the way that people imitate certain behaviours (such as violence) is through a process known as, modelling. An article in the British Journal of Psychology defines modeling as, “learning by watching, interpreting, and evaluating peers carrying out a task. Children model the behaviours of the persons around them who they look to for guidance, they then portray what was learned when socializing with their peers. When children see adults, engaging in violent behaviours they will also behave the same way CITATION Sch12 l 11273 (Schneider & Gruman, 2012).
Another theory used was Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) ecological systems theory which states that the first form of learning and socialization is the home and children display to the wider society what is learned within the walls of the home. This theory postulates that human development is influenced by the different types of environmental systems. The ecological systems theory holds that we encounter different environments throughout our lifespan that may influence our behaviour in varying degrees. These systems include the micro system, the meso system, the exo system, the macro system, and the chronosystem CITATION Sin12 l 11273 (Sincero, 2012).

Literature review of key concepts and variables
Types of Bullying
According to Anderson (2007), different sub-types of bullying can be broadly defined in terms of their directness. There are two categories for describing bullying behaviour: direct bullying and indirect bullying. Another type of bullying is cyber bullying.

Direct Bullying
Direct forms of bullying are defined as relatively open attacks on a victim that are carried out face to face this type of bullying includes, but not limited to biting, choking, hair pulling, hitting. It involves behaviours that are observable and that are usually expressed by physical and verbal means. Usually, direct bullying involves relatively open attacks on a victim and is “in front of your face” behaviours (Maiuro, 2015).

Direct bullying can also be described as observable behaviours include the bully using intimidation and threats through name calling, insults, negative comments about gender and race, and excessive teasing. Additionally, physical assaults may occur. These may include tripping, hitting, pinching and other acts of physical abuse as well as the destruction of property, demanding money or other possessions (Logsdon 2007).
Indirect Bullying
Indirect forms of bullying are described as more subtle and less direct these include, but not limited to telephone calls, spiteful teasing and spreading of false or malicious rumours. It can be almost impossible for people outside the interpersonal interaction to identify and can include repeatedly using hand gestures and weird or threatening looks whispering, excluding or turning your back on a person, restricting where a person can sit and who they can talk with. Covert social or verbal bullying can be subtle and even sometimes denied by a person who claims they were joking or ‘just having fun’ (Maiuro, 2015).

Some bullying is covert and indirect, usually intentionally hidden, and very hard for others to see. This type of bullying can include spreading rumours threatening, blackmailing, stealing friends breaking secrets, gossiping, criticising clothes and personalities. Indirect bullying mostly inflicts harm by damaging another’s social reputation, peer relationships, and self-esteem, that is, through psychological harm rather than physical harm (Baier, 2007).
Indirect bullying can also manifest itself in a secretive form, these can include such acts as rejecting, excluding, isolating, spreading rumours and causing other public humiliation. Manipulating friends and relationships, using passive aggression, passing damaging notes, or posting threatening or damaging emails or web material, blackmailing, harassment, and making dangerous dares are all secretive forms of bullying. Special education students are often targeted by bullies who seek to intimidate and gain power over others (Logsdon, 2007).

Cyber bullying
Cyber bullying is done electronically through the internet via emails and on-line chat rooms. Students can now enter the personal space of their victims that violates them and their rights inside their own homes through their computers. Not only is their school environment a hostile and threatening place, but this hostility and these threats can reach them in the safety of their home. Students who are victims of cyber bullying are subject to threatening emails or have hostile and abusive messages posted about them in online chat rooms (Baier, 2007).

According to Menesini et al. (2011) this type of bullying is understood by many to be deliberate and hostile behaviour that is intended to harm others and as such, a moral concern, this is of great concern due to the high rates of cyber-bullying and also because of the emotional, psychological and at times, physical damage it causes its victims.
Where bullying occurs?
According to Sulivan (2011) Bullying occurs in the poorer areas of society, where there are higher of drug and alcohol abuse, theft, unemployment and single parent families. It also occurs in schools that are less academically focused. Rigsby (2007) states that within the school compound bullying occurs on the playground, classrooms, and corridors also, outside the school building at lunch and to and from school. The areas where there is little or no supervision by teachers.

Cyber bullying can be described as the wilful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones and other electronic devices. This can be done through the mediums of Instagram, Watts app and Facebook. While traditional bullying can be social or physical or a combination, cyber bullying stems from proficiency with or the knowledge or possession of some content (information, pictures or video) that can be used to bully the victim thereby causing the victim to accede to the perpetrator request or even the victim committing suicide CITATION Hin14 l 11273 (Hinduja ; Patchin, 2014).

Emotional and psychological consequences of bullying
Psychological well-being is usually conceptualized as some combination of positive affective state such as happiness and functioning with optimal effectiveness in individual and social life. People with high psychological well-being naturally feel happy, well supported and satisfied with life, they also function effectively (Nazir ; Nesheen, 2015). Cohen (2009) reported that today’s youth are facing several social and emotional challenges, including stress, anxiety, and bullying. These social and emotional issues may be hindering students’ ability to succeed both during high school and as they transition into adulthood.

Ouellet-Morin (2011) reports that physical maltreatment has long-lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) reactivity that is associated with social, emotional, and behavioural problems. (Hemphill et al., 2011) found that being bullied is highly correlated with binge drinking and depression. School avoidance and poor attendance also lead to poor academic performance. (Kosciw et al., 2013) gleaned that victims of bullying suffered from lower self-esteem and thereby lower academic performance.

Depression is associated with each of the four forms of bullying. Cyber victims reported higher depression than bullies or bully-victims, a result not observed in other forms of bullying. For physical, verbal, and relational bullies, the frequently-involved group of victims and bully victims reported a significantly higher level of depression than the corresponding occasionally involved the group. For cyber bullying, differences were found only between the occasional and frequent victims (Wang, et al., 2011). Victims of bullying often feel lonely, humiliated, insecure and fearful going to school. They also experience poor relationships and social skills thereby making it difficult for them to make friends. They also struggle with emotional and social adjustments CITATION Hin14 l 11273 (Hinduja ; Patchin, 2014).
Consequences of bullying victimization include psychological and psychosomatic distress and problematic emotional and social responses such as eating disorders and chronic illnesses, while some victims injure themselves which can lead to suicide and others have run away from home to evade the trauma dealt by the perpetrators CITATION Hin14 l 11273 (Hinduja ; Patchin, 2014).

Who are bullies?
Children who are involved in bullying can be placed into one of three categories: bullies, victims, or bully-victims. Bully-victims are those children who both bully and are bullied. Boys are more likely to bully in general and become bully victims, while boys and girls are equally likely to be victims. Bullies can be characterized as aggressive, domineering, having a positive view of violence, impulsive and lack empathy with their victims. While this profile appears to be accurate for confident bullies the do no account for anxious bullies, these are the ones that hit out because they are insecure; for passive bullies, or bully/victims who are bullies in some situation and are victims in others (Sullivan, 2011).

Authoritarian parenting characterized by harsh, negative parenting practices, including neglect was associated with increases in bullying experiences. The effects of harsh parenting were associated with not only the victims but also the perpetrators of bullying. Nevertheless, children who are exposed to negative parenting, including abuse and neglect, but also overprotection are more likely to become victims (Stepp, 2014).
Research has shown that children who were members of families from of low socioeconomic status and living under the poverty level also, those who had parents with only a high school education, or parents who worked in jobs that weren’t well-regarded were more likely to be both bullies and victims. Children who were from an unstable family structure which includes a family experience of divorce, single parenthood, presence of stepparents or separated parents were at higher risk for both bullying and being bullied as well, as were children from dysfunctional families where they experienced violence, maltreatment, or parental neglect (Putt, 2013).

CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This research is a quantitative method, which is often used when a researcher wishes to gain a formal, objective, systematic process for obtaining information about their population. The researcher will use the survey method as it will allow him to measure the variables in terms of percentage, relationships, etc.

Research design
The researcher has adopted this design from the Kansas State Department of Education School Wide Bullying Survey (Reed, 2016), which was previously used to establish the relationship between bullying and its psychological effects on secondary school students based on age and gender.
Research methods
Population and sampling strategy
All of the participants who participated in the research were form ones and twos secondary school students of the five secondary schools named,
The age range of participants is between the ages of 12-14 years, as this is the typical age of students in Forms 1 & 2 at any Secondary School within Trinidad and Tobago. This group of students has just entered secondary school and are not fully aware of bullying. In most instances, Upper School students use bullying as a form of indoctrination of new students of the school. Therefore, the researcher believes that this is the best group of students to learn from, and any programme implemented at this level, will follow through to the higher levels, creating a change in the mindset of children on the phenomenon of bullying.

The main criterion for inclusion in the research was that the participant must be a student of one of the selected secondary schools, and their parent must give consent for the student to participate in the study. In addition, the students must be present on the date the questionnaire is being administered to be included in the study. However, at any time during the exercise if the student is uncomfortable with participating they can withdraw, the exercise is totally voluntary. Prior to the questionnaire being administered the researcher visited the schools met and spoke with the principals, teachers, and students explaining the process and a time limit of three days were given for the students to return the consent forms indicating their permission to participate.

Data collection
The method by which data will be collected using a questionnaire. The questionnaire used was a combination of questions from two vetted and approved questionnaires. Prior to the questionnaire being administered the researcher visited the schools and obtained permission to conduct the research after that was done the researcher returned with consent forms met and spoke with the principals, teachers, and students explaining the process and a time limit of three days were given for the students to return the consent forms indicating their permission to participate. The Researcher returned three days later and distributed out the questionnaires, only students who have returned the consent forms with permission to participate was be allowed to fill out the questionnaire. After the questionnaire has been distributed the researcher left the classroom so that the students will not be intimidated after the students completed it the researcher returned and collected same thanking them for their participation. The survey instrument used in the research will not identify the participants by name or address, neither will the parent have to print their name only the signatures on the consent form is required.

Data Analysis
The data collected from this research was analyzed using the following method; upon the completion of the questionnaire by the participants, the questionnaires were examined and only those that were answered in its entirety was used those with missing data was discarded. After that process was completed, the data collected was scored assigning a numeric score (or value) to each response category for each question on the instruments used to collect data. The numeric scores were then be entered into SPSS for analysis and results obtained to (Creswell 2014).

Validity measures and Threats
Two threats to validity were identified, they were mortality and selection, according to Creswell (2014) mortality occurs when the participants in research decide to drop out of the research prior to the completion. To minimize this threat to validity it is recommended that the researcher recruits a larger number of participants than the targeted population. Also, another threat is selection, this occurs in research when participants were recruited based on certain traits and characteristics be selected who have certain characteristics that predispose them to have certain outcomes, however, during the research the participant may not give information truthfully. To minimize this threat the researcher can select participants randomly so that characteristics have the probability of being equally distributed among the class population and all efforts to ensure that the participants complete the questionnaire.

Safeguards to protect confidentiality and security of data
The data will be stored on both the researcher desktop and laptop with a secured password. The hard copies will be kept in a cabinet in the researcher home secured by a lock and discarded after one year. The data will only be accessible to the researcher unless requested by the Advisor or Evaluator, in which case, the output will be distributed according.

The data collected using the survey instrument is one that is adopted from the Kansas State Department of Education School Wide Bullying Survey (Reed, 2016), which has been tested previously. The information will be collected from five schools in south Trinidad, however not all the students who will participate in the survey will be living in south Trinidad. The survey attempts to gain information on the students experience on the topic bullying either being a victim or a bystander.

The data collected was analyzed using critical analysis and interpretation of the information gleaned from the survey instrument. Using the data collated the researcher attempted to find the rationale behind the emergence of main findings.
The timeline for completion is approximately one month from the proposed start date which is February 15, 2018
Summary
This chapter deals with the method by which data will be collected, the measures adopted to recruit the targeted population also the ethical consideration given to each participant. After the data is collected the procedure by which it will be analyzed and checked for validity. Upon completion of the data via the survey instrument the data will be stored on both the researcher desktop and laptop with a secured password. The hard copies will be kept in a cabinet in the researcher home secured by a lock and discarded after one year.

Chapter 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS.

Schools are institutions of learning, where the children of today are the future leaders of the nation and should be afforded the opportunity to explore and reach their fullest potential academically, sadly bullying is an evil that lives within the walls of the schools, children who are perpetrators intentionally attack the victims causing the victims to live a life of constant fear. This results in the victims suffering from depression, social isolation and withdrawal, truancy, thoughts of revenge, poor academic performance, delinquency, violence, anxiety and other psychological conditions and suicide.

The results of this research should publicize bullying perpetrated against school children within the secondary schools in the County of Victoria, this problem directly or indirectly has numerous victims with one episode. The result of this research will be an added advantage to governments stand on the child’s protection and care, if it shows a significant influence. Parents, guardians, teachers, other caregivers and the general public will find the result of this study useful, as it will reveal to them the need for effective care and protection of their children, especially the importance of providing educational needs for a higher academic performance. The research will also be a resource of value to other researchers carrying out research on the topic or similar subject matter also beneficial to guidance officers and social workers.
To review, the three research questions in this study were:
1.The extent to which bullying is prevalent in secondary schools within south Trinidad.

2.The type of aggression associated with bullying and what are the underlying motives of the perpetrators.3.The extent to which bully occurs in Form 1 students when compared to Form 2 Students
Hypotheses
1.( Ho,) There is no relationship between bullying and the psychological effects on students within Form one and two in secondary schools in South Trinidad.

2.(H02) There is no relationship between gender and bullying of students within Form one and two in secondary schools in South Trinidad.

3.(H03) There is no significant difference between Form 1 and Form 2 Students who experience bullying.

The survey was divided into two sections the first section requested the participants to give information on the name of the school includes class, age, gender, ethnicity and religion. The second section requested the participants to answer questions related to bullying. This survey was conducted in five secondary schools within the county of Victoria and the information requested in section one was important for the researcher to understand the composition of participants.
Demographics:
The survey was administered in south Trinidad in the county of Victoria namely in five schools with a specific focus on first and second form students. The researcher distributed one hundred consent forms to each of the five schools, however, only 167 students participated in the survey, however, 17 of the questionnaires had to be discarded because of missing data. The remaining 150 questionnaires represented 30% of the population. Of the 150 students who participated, 6% from San Fernando West Secondary School, 30% Gasparillo Secondary School, 34.7 % Pleasantville Secondary School, 1.3% Marabella South Secondary School and 28 % Southern Academy of Seventh-Day Adventists (See Chart #1)
Chart 1

The schools that participated there was a great inconstancy in the amount of participants. Table 1 showed the students breakdown in gender and form. Pleasantville Secondary School, accounted for 52 or (34.7%) students with 23 participants being form one students and 29 being form two students. Of the 52 students who participated, 23 were males and 29 females.
Gasparillo Secondary School, accounted for 45 or (30%) students with 25 participants being form ones and 20 being form two students. Of the students who participated 26 were males and 19 females.

Southern Academy of Seventh-Day Adventists, accounted for 42 or (28%) students with all the students being from form one. Of the 42 students who participated 17 were males and 25 females. At the time of administering the survey, the students of form two were unavailable due to the murder of a school teacher also the end of term exams were in progress.

San Fernando West Secondary School, 9 or (6%) students with all the students being from form 2. Of the 9 students who participated 5 were males and 4 were females. Marabella South Secondary School, 2 or (1.3%) students with both from form 1 and comprised of one male and one female.

It should be noted that San Fernando West Secondary School and Marabella South Secondary School are located within a community that is considered to be a ‘HotSpot’ as classified by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service
Schools Total participants Percentage Class
Form 1 Form 2 Gender
Male Female
Pleasantville Secondary 52 34.7 23 29 23 29
Gasparillo Secondary 45 30.0 25 20 26 19
Southern Academy of Seventh-Day Adventist 42 28.0 42 0 17 25
Marabella South Secondary 2 1.3 2 0 1 1
San Fernando West Secondary 9 6.0 0 9 5 4
Total 150 100 92 Research Question 1: The extent to which bullying is prevalent in secondary schools within south Trinidad.

There were five items designed to answer this question. Respondents were asked to indicate by choosing one of the following response Never, Sometimes (1 to 2 times a month), regularly (1 to 2 times a week), every day. To answer the following questions:
1. During this school year, how often have you seen someone being bullied?
2. During this school year, how often have you been bullied at school?
Table 2
Question Never Sometimes (1 to 2 times a month) Regularly (1 to 2 times a week) Everyday
1. During this school year, how often have you seen someone being bullied? 21 14% 51 34% 59 39.3% 19 14%
2. During this school year, how often have you been bullied at school? 45 30 % 70 46.7% 31 20.6% 4 2.7%
Table 2.a
Question Never Sometimes (1 to 2 times a month) Regularly (1 to 2 times a week) Everyday
Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female
1. During this school year, how often have you seen someone being bullied? 10 11 27 24 28 31 7 12
2. During this school year, how often have you been bullied at school? 19 26 35 35 17 14 1 3
Table 2.b
Question Never Sometimes (1 to 2 times a month) Regularly (1 to 2 times a week) Everyday
Class Form 1 Form 2 Form 1 Form 2 From 1 Form 2 Form 1 Form 2
1. During this school year, how often have you seen someone being bullied? 19 2 22 29 35 24 16 3
2. During this school year, how often have you been bullied at school? 34 11 40 30 14 17 4 0
Table 2, shows a breakdown of students who answered both question 1 and 2
In response to research question one ‘The extent to which bullying is prevalent in secondary schools within south Trinidad.’having collated the data using SPSS and conducted a frequency analysis the results are shown in Table 2, and a cross tab the results are represented in table 2.a and Table 2.b
Table 2 shows a breakdown of the students that responded to question1 and 2, Table 2.a shows the responses gender and Table 2.b by class. All 150 students responded to both question 1 and 2. A total of 21 or (14%) students who participated responded that they have never seen someone being bullied during the school year. Of the 21 students who responded 10 students were males and 11 females, and 19 students were from form 1 and 2 from form 2.
A total of 51 or (34%) students responded that they have witnessed someone being bullied during this school year. Of the 51 students who responded 27 were males and 24 females and 22 were from form 1 and 29 from form 2.
A total 59 or (39.3%) students responded that during this school year, how often have you seen someone being bullied, of the students 28 were males and 31 females and 35 were from form 1 and 24 from form 2.

A total of 19 or (14%) students responded that every day during the past school year how often have you seen someone being bullied, of the students 7 were males and 12 females and 16 were from form1 and 3 from form 2.

In response to question 2, 150 students responded, 45 or (30%) students responded that they have never been bullied during this school year. Of the 45 students that responded 19 were males and 26 females and 34 from form1 and 11 from form 2.

A total of 70 or (46.7%) students responded that they have been bullied at least 1 to 2 times a month during the school year. Of the 70 students that responded 35 were males and 35 females and 40 were from form 1 and 30 from form 2.

A total of 31 or (20.6%) students responded that they have been regularly bullied within the school year. Of the 31 students that responded 17 were males and 14 females and 14 were from form one and 17 from form 2.

A total of 4 or (2.7%) students responded that they had experienced some form of bullying every day during the school year. Of the 4 students, there was 1 male and 3 females and all were from form 1.

From the results above it shows that even though 14% indicated that they have never seen someone being bullied 86 % of the student population indicated that they have seen someone being bullied. Even though 30% of the participants indicated that they have never been bullied 70% have been bullied either once a month, week or every day. The results have clearly indicated there is a prevalence of bullying in secondary schools within south Trinidad.

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