Trends of Abuse Among Students in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Background/purpose. Harassment among students is a critical issue that affects adolescent well-being and social development. Despite growing awareness, there is limited empirical evidence on the prevalence and gender differences of harassment tendencies in Indonesian schools. This study aimed to identify trends in harassment among students in West Sumatra, Indonesia, and to examine whether gender differences significantly influence these trends.

Materials/methods. This study employed a quantitative research design with a cross-sectional survey. A total of 732 students from Senior High Schools in Padang City were recruited using simple random sampling. Data were collected using the Harassment Behavior Tendency Scale (HBTS), which consists of 42 Likert-scale items. Scores were categorized into low, medium, and high harassment tendencies based on percentile distribution. Frequency distribution tables and graphical analyses, including histograms and boxplots, were used to examine the prevalence, distribution, and gender differences of harassment behaviors.

Results. The findings revealed that overall harassment tendencies were generally low. The mean HBTS score was 125.58 (SD = 9.01), with scores ranging from 98 to 156. Categorization of harassment tendencies indicated 275 students in the low group, 218 in the medium group, and 239 in the high group, showing a balanced distribution around the median. Further analysis demonstrated no significant gender differences, with median scores of 120 for male students and 118 for female students, and an interquartile range (IQR) of approximately 20 points for both. The distribution of categories by gender was also balanced, with nearly equal numbers of male and female students in each level.

Conclusion. The results challenge the assumption that harassment behaviors are more strongly associated with one gender. Instead, the findings highlight the need for educational and intervention programs that foster interpersonal skills and empathy. Integrating behavioral education into school curricula may serve as an effective strategy to prevent and address harassment among students, the main conclusion presented and verified in the study.

Keywords: Harassment tendencies, students, education, intervention

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