Victimization and Psychological Correlates in Argentine College Students

Abstract

Victimization is an important risk factor for the mental health of individuals. Although currently in Argentina considerable attention has been paid to bullying, few studies have been conducted to determine the incidence of suffering bullying and its psychological correlates in college students in this country. Objectives: to observe the incidence of the types of victimization in university students and to determine if victimization is a predictor of depression, anxiety and life satisfaction. Method: an intentional sample of 557 university students who were attending regular studies from first to fifth year in private and public universities of Paraná, Entre Ríos, was constituted. 85% were women. The ages ranged from 17 years to 34, with an average of 19.9 years. 55% lived with both parents. The participants answered questions of physical, verbal, and relational victimization according to Schäfer et al. questionnaire, as well as the Beck Depression Inventory, the Rosenberg Anxiety Inventory, and the Diener et al. Life Satisfaction Scale. Participation was voluntary, and the anonymity and confidentiality were ensured. The data were analyzed in the SPSS 24 program. Results: it was found that the most common form of victimization was relational, with very low levels of physical bullying. There were no gender differences in this regard. Victimization predicted 44% of the variance in depression, 9% in anxiety and 12% in life satisfaction. In all cases, the most significant predictor was relational victimization. In the discussion we analyze the implications of these findings, and we provide suggestions for future studies.