Bullied, Blamed, Broken: The Impact of Victim Blame on Bullied Adolescents’ Ego Establishment

Abstract

School bullying is widely recognized as a significant social issue. Past studies have discovered a potential connection between school bullying and identity crisis, drawing from Erik Erikson’s theory about psychological developmental stages. However, there is a dearth of research examining the possible influence of victim blame on bullied students’ identity formation during adolescence, especially with sufficient quantitative evidence. Addressing this research gap, the current study aims to investigate the correlation between victim blame and bullied students' identity crisis with quantitative measures. To comprehensively analyze the relationship between these three factors, this research focuses on the following question: How does victim blame impact the establishment of ego in bullied adolescents? To answer this question, data was collected from participants with high school experience and classifying them into control and treatment group. research tools were employed simultaneously: James E. Cote’s identity crisis modality model, Erik Erikson’s theory about psychological growth phases, and a quantitative survey consisting of close-ended questions. The findings reveal that most participants in the treatment group exhibited a sharp increase in identity crisis levels during adolescence, accompanied by frequent acute fluctuations in identity crisis level. This period also coincides with their experience of both victim blame and school bullying. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a positive correlation between victim blame and bullied students’ identity crisis. This research offers fresh insight to the psychology of bullied adolescent students, and future studies should aim to expand the scope of inquiry into the process of identity formation.