Socio-Demographic Profile of Bullying among Grade 6 Pupils in a Public Elementary School in Manila

In the Philippines a law that ensure that cases and instances of abuse are closely monitored at school level. However in 2015 Department of Education reports an increasing trend in bullying. This study aims to determine the socio-demographic profile of bullying among grade 6 students enrolled in a Public school in Manila. This is a Cross-sectional Study. Grade 6 students were chosen by cluster sampling and 3 classes were included. Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire. Data were arranged in tables expressed percentages. Chi-square test was done to determine the association of variables.Results showed that 84% said they were bullied by other children, 77.2% bully other children. Verbal bullying was the most commonly experienced type by victims and done by perpetrators. Frequency of bullying for both bullies and victims happened less than once a week (61%). Retaliation (53%) is the most common reason of bullies and for the victims they are bullied just for fun(43%).Majority of the bullies felt guilty after they have bullied other kids(40%), while most of the victims felt nothing after they were bullied(23%). Majority of the students (81%) reported that the most common reaction of teachers to bullying incidence they have witnessed was stopping the act immediately and resolving the matter right there and then. Those who are bullied others have higher incidence of being bullies (83.9%) than those who were not bullied (47.1%). There is no significant association between sex and being bullies or being bullied by other students. In conclusion, there is a high percentage of bullying in a public elementary school in Manila despite an existing law against bullying. Programs which may increase bullying awareness must be done in schools. The Department of Education together with the national and local government leaders and the whole community should work hand in hand to be able to lessen if not eradicate bullying in our country.