Getting Bullied in College: Implications for Resilience, Belonging, and Personal Health

Bullying among college students has been explored less extensively than bullying among middle school and high school students. As a result, fewer studies exist on bullying prevention and its physical and mental health effects in college settings compared to secondary and middle schools. This study assesses the potential for belongingness and resilience to mediate the health consequences of bullying and cyberbullying victimization among college students. Using a sample of 3,523 undergraduate students at a public university in the United States, we employed structural equation modeling to measure the direct and indirect effects of bullying and cyberbullying on physical and mental health through resilience and sense of belonging. We found significant negative direct effects on physical and mental health for victimization, although these effects varied by bullying type and personal health indicator. Resilience mediated the relationship between bullying (but not cyberbullying) and physical and mental health, with more victimization associated with lower resilience, which in turn was associated with poorer health. The belongingness factors of classroom comfort and faculty support also emerged as significant mediators in the structural models. Higher levels of bullying and cyberbullying were associated with lower belongingness, which in turn was associated with poorer health. These findings suggest that resilience training and belonging enhancement may be worthy approaches for reducing the harms of bullying victimization in college. We discuss strategies for implementing interventions of these kinds and bullying prevention in college settings.