The Effect of Bullying on Depression, Academic Activity, and Communication in Adolescents in Surakarta: A Multilevel Logistic Regression

Abstract

Background: Human interaction requires com­munication as a transmission of informa­tion, ideas, emotions, skills, and so on. Com­mu­nica­tion occurs when a source conveys a message to the recipient with a conscious in­ten­tion to influ­ence the recipient's behavior. One of the pro­blems in social communication is bully­ing. Bully­ing or harassment can be through words or through actions that aim to make the opponent's mental fall and pressure. The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that influence bullying against depres­sion with the Health Belief Model and Social Cognitive Theory. Subjects and Method: This was a cross-sectio­nal study conducted in junior high schools in Surakarta, in December 2019. A total sample of 250 adolescents was selected by simple random sampling. The dependent variable was bullying. The inde­pen­dent variables were perceived sus­ceptibility, perceived severity, cues to action, perceived threat, perceived benefit, perceived barrier, self-efficacy, depres­sion, academic activi­ties, and communication. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by a multiple multilevel logistic regres­sion run on Stata 13. Results: Bullying increased depression (b= 3.69; 95% CI= 1.51 to 9.00; p= 0.004) and poor communication (b= 4.95; 95% CI= 2.24 to 10.89; p <0.001). Bullying decreased academic achievement (b= - 5.68; 95% CI= -12.33 to -2.62; p<0.001). School had strong contextual effect on depression with ICC= ICC= 20.91%. Conclusion: Bullying increases depression and poor communication. Bullying decreases academic achievement. School has strong con­textual effect on depression. Keywords: bullying, depression, Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory Correspondence: Kiyat Sudrajad. Masters Program in Public Health, Universitas Sebelas Maret. Jl. Ir. Su­ta­mi 36 A, Surakarta, 57126, Central Java. Ema­il­: kiyatrambo­@gmail.com. Mobile: +628­5­6­47­1­16834. Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior (2020), 05(02): 79-86 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejhpb.2020.05.02.02