A Correlational Study of Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization in Adolescence with Single Parent

The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization in adolescents with single parents. It is hypothesized that there is a relationship between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization. Moreover, the study investigates the impact of emotional deprivation and bullying victimization on adolescents with single parent. For collecting data two scale was used namely young person schemas (YSQ: Jeffery,2008) and adolescents peer relationship scale (APRS: Parada,2000). Both scales are 6- point Likert scale having 5 and 18 items respectively. Purposive sampling strategy was used to collect data from 150 students of different private and public educational institutes of Gujranwala, age range of 13 to 18 years. SPSS version 27 was used to run analysis. A positive relationship was established between bullying victimization and the emotional deprivation. Such gender differences were observed, with the males showing greater magnitudes. Regression analysis suggests that bullying victimization predicts the emotional Deprivation. Pearson moment correlation, independent sample t-test and regression analysis. Reliability analysis showed high alpha values of both variables. The Pearson product-moment correlation analysis revealed that Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization are highly positive correlate. Regression analysis showed that emotional deprivation does promote bullying victimization.

Adolescence is a very important stage of development and can be defined as a phase with numerous dramatic physical, psychological and also emotional changes. There is a wide array of challenges that the single-parent teenagers in Pakistan face due to the specific cultural background; there are many issues with economic limitations as well as feelings of neglect. The families have to manage without the support which they used to get from their extended family and try surviving with insufficient funds for housing, healthcare as well as also education. The critical element of emotional support becomes extremely evident in the process that influences a lot self-esteem and also creates barriers to gender understanding by cultural standards. However, bullying in whichever form it may take is a very common threat to the teenagers’ health. It is because of the collectivism and stigmatization that bullying dynamics have many complexities among the Pakistani children. Various factors contributing to the victimization include physical appearance, behavior and also social skills that may affect the emotional health forever. In a society that stresses collectivism and the relative importance of family, people ignore their emotional needs; thus, more cases of deprivation take place especially on women due to the gender roles. This concomitant of emotional deficiencies and also the victimization bullying adds a lot to the dynamics that teenagers from single-parent families have. Evason et al. (2016), and Rizeq et al., This issue causes significant psychological problems of mental health along with the overall wellbeing for this gender, which require thorough researching.

Research Design

Correlation study with cross sectional research design was used to measure the relationship between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization.

Sample and Sampling Strategy

The sample of study was considered of 150 adolescents, that include men and women living with only one parental figure. Moreover, age rage of the sample with be 13 to 18 years. Data was collected from different educational institutes of Gujranwala that was included both private and public sectors. Purposive sampling strategy was used to collect data for the study.

Emotional Deprivation Scale

A self-report tool called Young Personal Schemas was created to evaluate 18 Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs), and emotional deprivation is one of them. In 2008, Jeff Young and Gray Brown came up with the idea. Every subscale has five items, and each one can be answered on a 6-point Likert type scale ranging from 1 (Completely untrue of me) to 6. (Describes me perfectly). It contains items that are good in measuring emotional deprivation, such as item one, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY LOVE AND ATTENTION, and item four, FOR MUCH OF MY LIFE I HAVEN'T FEEL SPECIAL TO ANYONE. Many publications have looked into the internal consistency or reliability coefficients of all YSQ-SF scales and reported Cronbach's alpha values ranging from good to very good. The Cronbach's alpha value of emotional deprivation subscale is 0.92. Low score on scale range 0 to 3 and any item more than 3 consider to be meaningful. Higher value ranges from 5 to 6 score. There is no cut of score for this instrument.

Bully Victimization Scale

Robert Parada created the Peer Adolescent Relationship Instrument in 2000 to assess the behaviour of both bullies and their targets. This scale consists of two subscales; the first portion of the scale contains items that assess bullying behaviour, while the second half of the scale assesses bullying victimization. Now. Only the second component of the scale, which has 18 items and three subscales, is used in this study. which is Verbal abuse: 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 are the items. Items 4, 8, 11, 13, 17, and 18 relate to social bullying and items 2, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 16 are related to physical bullying. Its items perfectly represent bullying victimization as item 1 says, I WAS TEASED BY STUDENTS SAYING THINGS TO ME and item 5 says, I WAS KICKED OR SHOVED and item 7 says, JOKES WERE MADE ABOUT ME. The uniformity within the victimization and bullying subscales each had trustworthy Cronbach's alpha values of 0.86 and 0.89, respectively. A score of 6 or less indicates that the person has never bullied anybody else or been tormented themselves in that manner. For this instrument, there is no cut off score.

Inclusion Criteria

• Participants were between the ages of 13-18 years old.
• Participants with a single parent, either due to separation, death, or other circumstances, and their living arrangements should be consistent with this status.
• Participants had basic education.
• Both men and women were included.

Exclusion Criteria

• Participants under the age of 13 or over the age of 18 was excluded to ensure the study focuses on adolescence.
• Participants who had severe disabilities that would interfere with their ability to participate in the study was excluded.
• Participants who are currently receiving therapy or other forms of treatment for emotional or behavioural problems was excluded to reduce potential confounds.
• Participants who have experienced significant events (e.g., death of a parent, major illness) in the past 3-6 months was excluded to reduce the impact of these events on the outcome variables.

Procedure

In the first stage after discussion, the topic was determined and two variables were selected considering the literature. The next step was to find the scale of the related variable. Next, the author of the scales was contacted to obtain his or her permission for use in the research. Theoretical background of the selected variables was then studied post that. Literature was also researched alongside in order to uncover any relevant research. The two scales that were used consisted of young person schemas scale developed by Jeff and you and Gray Brown, a self-report tool called Young Personal Schema was created to assess 18 Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs), and emotional deprivation is one among them. Secondly, Robert Parada developed the Peer Adolescent Relationship Instrument in 2000 to measure both the bullies and their victims’ behavior.

We conducted a simple convenience sampling and obtained samples from various institute that was a part of the study. Such names are listed below; Superior Science College, college of business and C.A., Government Graduate school kamoke plus a few others were involved. Moreover, upon consultation with the institutional authority concerned following informed consent were received from the participants. The participants also had the freedom to take part in research or withdraw from the research.

Ethical Consideration

Participants' informed permission was obtained, and confidentiality and anonymity of participants must be upheld throughout the whole study procedure. During the course of the study, researchers had also made sure that participants were not harmed physically, emotionally, or psychologically. Participants were given the right to withdrawal.

Use of Language Model

ChatGpt is used to improve language coherence and quality of this article             

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all human participants included in this study and/or their legal guardians. Participants were provided with detailed information regarding the purpose of the study, procedures involved, potential risks and benefits, confidentiality measures, and their right to withdraw at any time without repercussion. Consent forms were signed by all participants or their legal guardians prior to participation. This study was conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the faculty of psychology of University of Punjab.

Data Availability 

Data supporting the findings of this study are included within the manuscript.

The present research was conducted to study the relationship between Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization in adolescents with single parents. Analysis was done on both variables to see the relation between them. Furthermore, the role of demographic variables (parental status, father status, mother status, occupational status, family system, institutional type) was also investigated. For the purpose of reliability, estimates of two instruments were calculated. Pearson product correlation, and independent sample t test were applied. Regression analysis applied for the prediction of variables. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) version of 27 was used for different statistics. The present research results were given below. To find the reliability of variables named Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization, a reliability analysis was conducted.

Table 1: Psychometric Properties of Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization.

Note: M=Mean; SD= Standard Deviation; α= Alpha Coefficient

The study's assessment of reliability indicates that the questions related to Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization consistently measure what they're intended to measure. The scores for reliability were found to be satisfactory too high for both Emotional Deprivation with a score of 0.81(>.70) and Bullying Victimization with a score of 0.88(>.70), indicating satisfactory internal consistency. Moreover, when looking at specific aspects of Bullying Victimization, such as Verbal Bullying, Physical Bullying, and Social Bullying again, their respective scores for internal consistency were also found to be 0.82, 0.63, and 0.67. (>.70, <.70, <.70) respectively. which indicate satisfactory internal consistency for Verbal Bullying and low internal consistency for Physical Bullying, and Social Bullying. Overall, these findings give us confidence in the quality of the scales used in the study and help us better understand the characteristics they are designed to measure. It was hypothesized that there is likely to be a positive relationship between Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization. In order to see the relationship between variable a correlation analysis was used.

Table 2: Pearson-product moment Correlations for Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization.

Note: n=number of participants, M=mean, SD=standard deviation.

Table 4.2 The relationship between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization is (r=.40, p=.01). This suggests that there is a moderate positive correlation between emotional deprivation and being a victim of bullying. In other words, individuals who report higher levels of emotional deprivation tend to also report higher levels of bullying victimization. The relationship between verbal bullying and emotional deprivation is (r=.43, p=.01). and with bullying victimization it stated (r=.93, p=.01). This indicates a moderate positive relationship between experiencing verbal bullying, emotional deprivation and overall bullying victimization. Individuals who report more instances of verbal bullying also tend to report higher levels of bullying victimization. The relationship between physical bullying and bullying victimization is (r=.89, p=.01). This suggests a moderate positive correlation, indicating that individuals who experience more emotional deprivation and physical bullying also tend to report higher levels of bullying victimization. The correlation between social bullying and emotional deprivation is (r=.30, p=.01), bullying victimization is (r=.67, p=.01). This indicates a moderate positive correlation between social bullying experiences and overall bullying victimization and emotional deprivation. Individuals who report more social bullying tend to report higher levels of bullying victimization and emotional deprivation. In order to quantify the extent of influence that emotional deprivation has on bullying victimization, a regression analysis was conducted.

Table 3: Simple Linear Regression Analysis for Predicting Emotional Deprivation from Bullying Victimization (N=150).

Note: Constant = Bullying Victimization; B=Unstandardized Coefficient; SE= Estimated Error; CI= Confidential Interval.

In regression table, the value of R2 is .16 that mean it influence results by about 16.1%. The equation was found as F (1,148) =28.42 p<.001 with an R2 of .16 tells that research model is meaningful and solid. When focused on just verbal bullying and emotional deprivation, these two factors explained 18% of our results, and with F (1,148) = 30.7 p<.001 with an R2 of .18. When physical bullying combined with emotional deprivation, they turned out to be really strongly related, explaining a whopping 93% of our results F (1,148) = 40.7 p<.001 with an R2 of .93. Lastly, social bullying and emotional deprivation together, they explained about 11% of our results, F (1,148) = 19.78 p<.001 with an R2 of .11. So, all these numbers help us understand how bullying and emotional deprivation are connected, with some combinations having stronger influences than others. The finding reveled that emotional deprivation positively predicted bullying victimization (β=.401, p<.001). It was hypothesized that there is likely to be an existence of gender difference, in Emotional deprivation and bullying victimization.

Table 4: Mean Comparison of Gender in Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization (N=150).

Note: M= mean; SD=standard deviation.

Table 4 presents a comparative analysis of gender differences in Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization among a sample population. The table outlines mean scores and standard deviations for male and female participants in various psychological variables. Notably, statistically differences emerge in Emotional Deprivation, with males scoring higher (M = 2.02, SD = 1.64) than females (M = 1.21, SD = 1.42). Additionally, concerning Bullying Victimization, male participants (M = 34.56, SD = 14.47) report higher victimization experiences compared to females (M = 26.78, SD = 6.73. Similarly, Verbal Bullying and Social Bullying and Physical Bullying exhibit gender disparities, with males experiencing higher levels of victimization compared to females.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization. According to results, a positive correlation between Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization. There is likely to be gender difference present in Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization. There is likely to be a difference present between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization in adolescents with signal parents with respect to demographic variables. Descriptive statistics and internal consistencies of emotional deprivation scale and bullying victimization questionnaire were drawn through reliability analysis. In table 1 The psychometric properties of each scale were proved to be satisfactory. Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.65 and above is considered to be acceptable. Cronbach’s alpha, author of the Emotional Deprivation reported validity range of .92, and this study show validity of the scale of emotional deprivation was 0.80 which is considered to be good reliability of the scale. Author of the Bullying Victimization scale listed the scale reliability ranging from .88 to .92 which is also considered to be good reliable value and Cronbach’s alpha value of this study was 0.87. In table 2 Pearson product-moment correlation was applied to determine a relationship between Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization in adolescents with single parents. The correlation value was .401**. Result revealed that there was positive relationship between Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization. Moreover, all Subscale also show positive result with Emotional Deprivation and overall scale of Bullying Victimization.

The regression table shows that our variables are influencing each other. An unstandardized beta value represents the non-bullying victimization constant, 25.50 of Emotional Deprivation is predicted at this point when there is no bully victimization present in the school environment. This constant value is a statistically significant one, indicating that in spite of the absence of bullying victimization, Emotional Deprivation still prevails to some extent. Secondly, with regard to Verbal Bullying’s impact on Emotional Deprivation, the analysis shows that for every unit increase in such an instance we can estimate a 6.89-unit rise of Emotional Deprivation. This positive relationship is statistically very significant; hence the verbal bullying has a considerable effect on Emotional Deprivation. When we look at the effect of Physical Bullying, it is revealed that in every unit increase in Physical Bullies, Emotional Deprivation tends to rise with 8.56-unit units This relationship is also very strong which indicates the great effect of physical bullying to the Emotional Deprivation. Finally, Social Bullying acts as a good predictor. 8.62 units of Emotional Deprivation are expected for each unit increase in the Social Bullying AS table 3 shows the main hypothesis of the study was that there is likely to be a significant relationship between Emotional Deprivation and Bullying Victimization. Napoletano et al. (2010) discovered a positive connection between relative deprivation and bullying involvement, which is the feeling of being worse off than others, was positively associated with bullying involvement. This means that adolescents who felt relatively deprived were more likely to be involved in bullying, either as perpetrators or victims. Similarly, the study by (Rizeq et al.2022) reinforces the link between deprivation, neurodevelopmental issues, and bullying. Children who experience deprivation may be more likely to have neurodevelopmental issues, which can make them more vulnerable to bullying. Bullying can then lead to further deprivation, as children who are bullied may be less likely to succeed in school or have positive relationships with others.

Another research also shares some characteristics with the other study that notes how early life situations, such as institutional neglect can affect the later psychological attributes (Hawk & MacCall 2013). This hypothesis is also supported by the indigenous research. In India, the connections between emotional bullying and depression as well as poor psychological adjustment are very significant among the adolescents (Malhi et al. 2014). The second hypothesis was that among the adolescents with single parents, emotional deprivation and bullying victimization would show a gender difference. It is supported by the findings of table 4 of Malhi et al. (2014) stating that boys and also girls face different forms of bullying at different rates. Since emotional deprivation is a factor that encourages the bullying behavior, the findings on gender differences between adolescents from single-parent households and those of dual parental background could be understood as arising out of some differences in the nature and also aspects of emotions they experience under different circumstances. For instance, a cross-sectional study by Cosma et al. (2022) revealed that boys have higher chances of victimization and participation in bullying while another research conducted by (Delfabbro et al., 31). In addition to that, according to the finding scores for boys are higher on the emotional deprivation. Looking at the research by Ayse (2016), bullying occurs among the people who are most likely to have maladaptive schemas. Cognitive distortions called maladaptive schemas result in the negative opinions of oneself and others. The most prevalent maladaptive schema is emotional deprivation, which refers to the belief unmet by one’s own emotional needs.

Implications of the Study

It extends the implications of this study on emotional deprivation and bullying victimization among the adolescents to several fields.

In the field of educational psychology, these results show that learning environments should be safe and students are supported; interventions to promote emotional well-being are thus being developed with a goal to fight against bullying in schools.

This study can help social psychologists create many strategies that increase empathy and also prosocial behavior in the peers.

In developmental psychology, the study enriches our knowledge in terms of how these experiences influence an adolescent’s emotional and also psychological maturation with a specific emphasis on future research related to long-term consequences as well as potential intervention patterns.

Clinical psychologists can employ many strategies that help the adolescents who have been subjected to emotional neglect or bullying in a more personalized manner. In child psychology, this study offers intelligence of the effect that early emotion encounters and other interactions with peers have on a kid's emotional development along with insistence for quick treatment.

Awareness about the significance of bullying and emotional deprivation can be caused by community measures toward transforming the bully-related behaviour.

Although the result revealed the significant relationship in the variables that approved the hypothesis of the result, but some limitations have also been noted in the study which are 1. The study was limited by its small sample size and cross-sectional design. More research is needed to confirm the findings of this study. 2. The study did not examine the role of other factors, such as mental health problems or family environment, in the relationship between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization. Relaying on self-report questionnaire can create response biasness.

What is already known about this topic

Adolescents from single-parent families may experience emotional deprivation. Bullying victimization is a prevalent issue among adolescents. Limited research explores the relationship between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization in this specific demographic.

What this Topic Adds

Positive correlation found between emotional deprivation and bullying victimization in adolescents from single-parent families. Gender differences observed, with males experiencing higher levels of both emotional deprivation and bullying victimization. Regression analysis indicates that bullying victimization predicts emotional deprivation, highlighting a potential directional relationship.

I express deep gratitude and humble thanks to ALLAH ALMIGHTY, who knows all best and gave me entire initative health, thoughts, parents, helping friends who enabled me to accomplish this task. I pay my gratitude to Mrs. Uzma Nauman, Head of the Department, who facilitated me in all terms. I am also, especially, thankful to my supervisor Ms. Umme Khuzaima for her sincere guidance, untiring cooperation, valuable advice, endless patience and inspiration during each and every stage of this research project and I am really thankful to my family, most importantly my mother, and friends for their assistance, support and cooperation. Last but not least I am thankful to the participants who cooperatively participated in this research which made me able to accomplish my research project in the present form.