MST-Department of Psychology

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Browsing MST-Department of Psychology by Author "Bochere, Magangi Evelyn"

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    Relationship between parental conflict, family structure and bullying among public secondary school students in Kiambu County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2018) Bochere, Magangi Evelyn
    Bullying, as a form of school violence is a big challenge and there is evidence that it is happening in many parts of the world including Kenya. Most past studies in Kenya have focused on prevalence, causes, forms and effects of bullying. However, not so much has been done on the influence of family especially parents on bullying. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between family structure, parental conflict and bullying among public secondary school students in Kiambu County. The social dominance and dominance formed the theoretical basis of the study. The study employed the correlation research design. The target population was 55 secondary schools with a student population of 13,772 students in Kikuyu Sub County of Kiambu County. A sample of 13 schools was determined and the specific schools where chosen using stratified sampling technique. The schools were stratified based on criteria of school gender category (mixed, boys only and girls only), school accommodation (boarding only, day only and boarding-day). Simple random sampling method was used to select respondents (n=346). The study used a questionnaire to collect data. Reliability of the questionnaire was established using split-half method from data of a pilot study that was carried out in Lari Sub-County. Descriptive statistics in form of frequency tables and means were used to analyze the demographic characteristics, while chi-square was used to establish relationships between parental conflict, family structure and prevalence of bullying. Statistical Package for social Sciences version 23 was used in data analysis. The study established a statistically significant relationship between school type by accommodation and being a perpetrator of bullying, χ2(1) = 21.486, p=.001. Majority of the respondents (65.8%) were living with both parents, 18.6% were living with single mothers, while 6.6% were living with a guardian who was a relative, with the relationship between family structure and bullying was not statistically significant, p>0.05. The study further established a significant relationship between parental conflict and being a bullying victim and a bullying perpetrator, p<0.05. There is need to establish programs that are responsive to school type by gender and accommodation and that focus on counseling the students on the effects of bullying. Also, there is need for sensitization programs to be conducted among the parents of high school students on the effects of exposing children to parental conflicts and the same be conducted in the communities to act as a preventive measure for future students.