| dc.description.abstract |
Bullying continues to be a problem that plagues schools and students throughoutthe country. This qualitative study was conducted to understand the perceptions ofcollege freshmen, who self-reported bullying in pre-college educational settings, aboutthe impact of previous bullying on them during their freshman year of college. Sevenmembers of the freshmen class at a Midwestern private university were interviewed. Theparticipants offered their perspectives on bullying’s long-term impact on academicsuccess, the likelihood of continuing to the sophomore year of college, engagement incampus life, campus safety, and perceptions of bullying experiences since attendingcollege. Qualitative interview data were gathered and analyzed to determine themes.Five themes emerged which reflected participants’ perceptions about the long-termeffects of bullying. Themes included the following: (a) bullying has had a long-termimpact on first year students’ academic achievement; (b) all participants are continuingon to their sophomore year; (c) five of the seven participants are actively engaged incampus organizations/clubs; (d) bullying has negatively impacted all participants’ mentalhealth; (e) bullying has had a long-term impact on first year participants’ socialrelationships. There were no emerging themes from participants related to bullyingexperiences during the freshman year or perceptions about campus safety. The findingspresent implications for university constituents and researchers interested in knowing thelong-term effects of bullying on first-year college students. |
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