From Bullying to Thriving: A Qualitative Study on Resilience in College Students with a History of Childhood Bullying

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19689855

Navanitha M and Annalakshmi N (Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)

Childhood bullying constitutes a major psychosocial stressor with long-term consequences for psychological functioning that often extend into emerging adulthood. Despite the risk factors, some individuals show resilience and manage to thrive. Exploring and strengthening protective factors helps individuals reduce or prevent the harmful impacts associated with those risks. The present study explores the protective factors contributing to resilience in college students with a childhood bullying experience. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with semi-structured interviews on 24 college students (12 males & 12 females) aged 18-25 with a childhood history of bullying from a mid-sized city in South India. The data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The results revealed that social support, activity-based coping, cognitive and emotional regulation, and self-efficacy emerged as protective factors. Protective factors play a crucial role in fostering resilience and well-being among this population. Future research should focus on emphasizing the necessity of early detection of bullying experiences and highlighting the importance of targeted psychosocial interventions to enhance resilience and reduce distress among emerging adults with such bullying histories.