Relationship between the experience of being bullied and interpersonal sensitivity in college students in Shanghai

Objective To compare the experience of being bullied among students of different academic levels and analyze the correlation between the experience of being bullied and interpersonal sensitivity,and to provide a theoretical basis for research on interventions for bullying on campus.Methods A total of 1 963 students in two colleges (a comprehensive university and a vocational college) from Shanghai by cluster sampling method were investigated with anonymous questionnaires x2 test was used to compare the differences in the experience of being bullied of the students.Bivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the correlation between the experience of being bullied and interpersonal sensitivity.Results Verbal bullying had the highest rate (24.5%) in both of the two colleges.The reported rates of threats,physical bullying and extortion were higher in the comprehensive university than those in the vocational college(x2 =19.27,6.08,7.46,P<0.05).Among the surveyed students,the reported rates of bullying decreased over time,while the possibility of having interpersonal sensitivity increased(P<0.05).Students who had the experience of being bullied at primary school were more likely to suffer apparent interpersonal sensitivity at college(OR =2.532,95%CI=1.183-5.417).There were no significant difference in obvious symptoms of interpersoual sensitivity between college students with or without bullying victimization experience during high school.Conclusion An experience of being bullied at school during childhood has adverse impact on the mental development of students,and it is reasonable to take active actions to handle bullying on campus.