Self-esteem and life satisfaction among Brazilian adolescents victimized and bullies

Abstract: Bullying is characterized by repeated physical or psychological intimidation, leading to harassment and abuse that can impact the well-being of both victims and perpetrators. This study investigated differences in self-esteem and life satisfaction among students who had been victims or bullies compared to those who had never experienced bullying, either as victims or aggressors. The study involved 194 adolescents, with an average age of 17.46 years (SD=1,26), from the Federal Institute of Science and Technology of Bahia, Brazil. Four scales were used: the Bullying Victimization Scale, Bullying Behavior Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Global Life Satisfaction Scale. Results indicate that victims of verbal and relational bullying had lower life satisfaction than non-victims. Victims of relational bullying also had lower self-esteem compared to those who had never been victimized. Victims of verbal bullying showed a trend towards lower self-esteem compared to non-victims. Finally, relational bullies had lower life satisfaction than non-bullies. We concluded that bullying adversely affects the subjective well-being of both victims and perpetrators, underscoring the importance of addressing bullying behaviors among adolescents.