The Effect of Self-Esteem on Resilience among Victims of Bullying: Does Gender Play a Role?

. Bullying has become a serious issue in educational institutions. Bullying causes significant negative effects on physical, social, and psychological aspects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of self-esteem on resilience. We also analyzed the resilience differences between male and female students. Through a cross-sectional study design, 86 students participated in completing a survey. The Multidimensional Peer-Victimization Scale developed by Mynard & Joseph was used to determine respondents who were victims of bullying. Furthermore, The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) were used to measure resilience and self-esteem. The data analysis technique used to reveal the difference in resilience of bullying victims between males and females is the independent sample t-test. Furthermore, simple regression is used to test the influence of self-esteem on resilience. The results showed that students' self-esteem and resilience were moderate. There was a significant difference in resilience between male and female students, with males having higher resilience than females. Testing also proved that there is an influence of self-esteem on students' resilience. This study has implications for the importance of addressing bullying in schools. Furthermore, psychological interventions through counseling services can be implemented to improve resilience.


INTRODUCTION
Bullying commonly affects about one-third of children worldwide (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2019).Bullying frequently happens in every setting and level, especially in educational environments.It is classified as aggressive behavior that is intentionally done, repeatedly hurts others, and causes harm (Beane, 2008).Another view suggests that bullying is a form of pressure from those who are strong over those who are weak (Colorosa, 2007).It is unwanted aggressive behavior towards a targeted victim that aims to emotionally and physically hurt them (Olweus, 2013).This behavior is repeated or potentially repeated over time and involves a significant power imbalance (Arseneault, 2018).The power imbalance in the perpetrator-victim relationship distinguishes bullying from other violent or aggressive actions (Aalsma & Brown, 2008).
The dangers of bullying can affect the victim, the perpetrator, and even the people around them.Victims of bullying can suffer severe emotional and psychological damage, such as stress, anxiety, depression, and nervousness (Owusu, Hart, Oliver, & Kang, 2011;Trépanier, Fernet, & Austin, 2013).It can affect their mental health even into adulthood.Victims of bullying also often feel worthless and have low self-esteem (Darney, Howcroft, & Stroud, 2013).This condition can affect their confidence and ability to interact with others.Victims of bullying have a higher risk of experiencing mental health problems later in life, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Idsoe, Dyregrov, & Idsoe, 2012).Furthermore, victims of bullying may experience academic performance decline, absenteeism, or even drop out of school (Oliveira, de Menezes, Irffi, & Oliveira, 2018).
Bullying still occurs in schools, both in Indonesia and worldwide.Despite prevention and intervention efforts by schools and governments, cases of bullying still happen and can severely impact the mental and physical well-being of the victims.According to UNESCO data from 2020, around 1 in 3 children worldwide experience bullying in school (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2019).A study by Sujadi, Yandri, & Juliawati revealed that 41% of students often experience bullying (Sujadi, Yandri, & Juliawati, 2021).Another study showed that more than 50% of students were victims of physical and non-physical bullying (Dewi, Hasan, & AR, 2016).Additionally, 31.9% of students had experienced mild bullying behavior (Wakhid, Andriani, & Saparwati, 2017), while the majority (68.44%) reported having been victims of violence (Distiller, Theron, Martin, & Ward, 2007).Although not half of it, this incident happened to young children, which can illustrate that bullying behavior has even occurred at a young age, causing specific trauma.Bullying behavior is also a problem in other countries (Itegi, 2017;Jan & Husain, 2015;Türkmen et al., 2013).
All bullying victims must withstand difficult situations without affecting their psychological well-being.Psychological strength or emotional intelligence can help to bully victims more easily overcome the negative effects of bullying behavior.Psychological strength can help |3 victims maintain their self-esteem and self-confidence and develop conflict-resolution skills.Additionally, efforts to improve psychological strength in children and adolescents can help prevent bullying behavior and improve mental well-being in general.The psychological strength of students who become victims of bullying must have resilience.Resilience is an individual's ability to cope and recover from stressful situations, trauma, or emotional pressure.Resilience is an individual's ability to adapt to change and overcome challenges.Individuals with good resilience tend to be able to stay calm and positive in the face of difficult situations, strengthen interpersonal relationships, and have the motivation to achieve their goals (Aburn, Gott, & Hoare, 2016;Herrman et al., 2011;Pooley & Cohen, 2010).
According to Rojas, resilience is influenced by family support (Rojas, 2015).Furthermore, Mendleco explains that important factors influencing resilience in children come from internal or external sources.Internal factors include biological and psychological factors, while external factors reflect the nature and quality of relationships built within or outside the family group (Mandleco, 2000).Problem-focused coping, self-concept, and school engagement impact the formation of children's resilience (Chulakarn & Chaimongkol, 2021).Specifically, a study conducted by Huey & Palaganas on factors influencing resilience in healthcare professionals includes: (1) individual factors (e.g., personality traits, having higher goals), (2) environmental and organizational factors (e.g., workplace culture), (3) approaches taken by individuals when interacting with their professional situation (e.g., self-reflection), and (4) effective education (Huey & Palaganas, 2020).
The resilience of bullying victims varies greatly.Some bullying victims have stable resilience, while others have low resilience.Resilience can help bullying victims cope with the negative impacts of bullying and recover from trauma or stress.Bullying victims with strong resilience can develop the ability to stay positive, find solutions to problems, and strengthen social relationships with friends and family.Conversely, bullying victims with low resilience are more likely to experience higher psychological disturbances, such as depression, anxiety, and stress (Darney et al., 2013).A study conducted by Yuliani, Widiantil, & Sari revealed that the resilience of most of the research sample was low when receiving bullying (Yuliani, Widiantil, & Sari, 2018).
A preliminary study conducted at a high school in Sungai Penuh City showed that some students experienced verbal and physical bullying.Referring to the indicators in the Scale of Resilience developed by Reivich & Shatte, the researchers conducted interviews with students who indicated to have experienced bullying.Some of them were found to have low resilience.Furthermore, the Guidance and Counseling Teacher also revealed that some students had low resilience, such as emotionally unstable regulation, pessimism, lack of skills in analyzing the causes of their problems, and low empathy.Indeed, students who are victims of bullying and indicated to have low resilience should be given appropriate interventions.
Resilience is influenced by several factors, one of which is gender.Several research results prove that men have higher resilience than women (Boardman, Blalock, & Button, 2008;Erdogan, Ozdogan, & Erdogan, 2015;Sambu & Mhongo, 2019;Sujadi & Setioningsih, 2018;Sujadi et al., 2021).However, the findings of a study of 16 male deans and 19 female deans showed that the resilience of female deans tends to be higher than male deans (Isaacs, 2014).Likewise, a study conducted by Priyadarshini & Rathnasabapathy showed that most female children were found to have high levels of resilience compared to male children (Priyadarshini D & Rathnasabapathy, 2021).In addition to gender, self-esteem is another factor that affects the resilience of students who are victims of bullying.
The previous studies' results indicate that self-esteem and self-efficacy jointly contribute to 47.6% of academic resilience (Wulandari & Istiani, 2021).Another study proves that self-esteem and hopelessness are significant predictors of resilience (Karatas, 2011).Self-esteem is a widely used construct in psychology, associated with nearly every other psychological concept or domain, Educational Guidance and Counseling Development Jounal, Vol. 6, No. 1, April 2023, 1 -13 such as personality (e.g., shyness), behavioral (e.g., task performance), cognitive (e.g., attribution bias), and clinical.Self-esteem refers to the extent to which the qualities embodied in our selfconcept are positive or negative.It reflects an individual's self-image and achievements.People with low self-esteem are often found to have depression (Stets & Burke, 2014).According to another perspective, self-esteem is a person's positive or negative attitude toward themselves (Stets & Burke, 2014).Self-esteem impacts decision-making, relationships, emotional health, and overall well-being.This aspect also influences motivation, as individuals with a positive and healthy view of themselves and their potential may feel inspired to take on new challenges.Individuals with healthy self-esteem possess a strong understanding of their abilities, maintain healthy relationships with others, have realistic expectations and focus on their strengths, understand their needs, and express them (Cherry, 2021).
Based on the research problem and previous studies, the researchers aim to investigate the differences in resilience between male and female bullying victims and test whether self-esteem affects students' resilience.This study is crucial in providing insight to schools regarding handling bullying cases, especially psychological interventions for victims.

Self-Esteem
The topic of self-esteem has received much attention from researchers to understand the nature of self-esteem itself and in relation to other variables that are important in life.A search for "selfesteem" in the PsychINFO database yielded over 65,000 results.Self-esteem is an individual's self-evaluation over time (Kille & Wood, 2012).Rosenberg, one of the pioneers of this concept, stated that self-esteem refers to an individual's overall positive evaluation of oneself (Rosenberg, 1979).He added that high self-esteem consists of individuals who value and consider themselves worthwhile.Similarly, Sedikides & Gress stated that self-esteem refers to an individual's perception or subjective assessment of self-worth and confidence and the extent to which individuals view themselves positively or negatively (Sedikides & Gress, 2003).Self-esteem relates to personal beliefs about skills, abilities, and social relationships (Sedikides & Gress, 2003).
Regarding the dimensions of self-esteem, some authors conceptualize it as a global/unidimensional trait.In contrast, others view it as a multidimensional trait with independent subcomponents (performance, social, and physical self-worth) (Heatherton & Wyland, 2003).Branden proposed that self-esteem consists of two components: (a) self-efficacy, belief in the ability to think, learn, choose, and make correct decisions and to overcome challenges and produce change, and (b) self-respect, confidence in one's right to happiness, and the belief that people deserve respect, love, and fulfillment that emerge in their lives (Branden, 1969).Furthermore, Reasoner stated that self-esteem consists of two dimensions: competence and worth.Deci & Ryan differentiated between contingent and true self-esteem (Deci & Ryan, 2008).Contingent self-esteem refers to feelings about oneself generated by some standard of excellence or interpersonal or intrapsychic expectation.Conversely, true self-esteem is more stable and based on a firm, secure sense of self.

Resilience
Resilience is a person's ability to overcome stress, failure, and difficulties and bounce back and grow from these experiences.The term comes from the Latin word "resilio" which means to jump back or bounce back, which describes the ability to return to the original state or even grow better than before after experiencing difficulties or trauma (Rose, 2017).Southwick et al. define resilience as maintaining or restoring normal or healthy functioning after experiencing stress or trauma (Southwick, Bonanno, Masten, Panter-Brick, & Yehuda, 2014).According to Luthar, |5 Cicchetti, & Becker, resilience is the ability to withstand, adapt, and develop in the face of pressure, difficulties, and change (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000).Furthermore, Fletcher & Sarkar state that resilience is the ability to use internal and external resources to deal with challenging situations and experience positive growth due to these experiences (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2013).
Resilience consists of several dimensions or factors.The following are some resilience dimensions identified in related research: 1) Goal commitment is the ability to stay focused on goals and see the long-term, even in difficult or stressful situations.2) Self-control is the ability to regulate emotions and exercise self-restraint in making appropriate decisions.3) Self-reliance is the ability to be self-sufficient and responsible for oneself.4) Social skills are the ability to build good social relationships and utilize existing social support.5) Optimism is seeing the positive side of difficult situations and hoping for a better future.6) Courage is the ability to face fear and take necessary risks to achieve goals.7) Adaptability is the ability to adjust to change and learn from experience (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2013;Ungar, 2011;Windle, 2011).

METHOD Research Design and Respondents
We used a cross-sectional survey method that includes correlational and comparative designs.The respondents in this study were high school students who were victims of bullying.The researchers used a random sampling technique to obtain a sample of 259 out of 736 students.However, out of the 259 students, only 86 had experienced bullying.Data collection was conducted online using the Google Forms application.The questionnaire link was then shared through the social media platform WhatsApp.Using an online method enabled a broader and faster range of respondents.Table 1 shows that the number of female respondents was 46, while the number of male respondents was 40.

Research Scale
The authors used two scales in this study.The first scale was the Multidimensional Peer-Victimization Scale developed by Mynard & Joseph, which was used to identify victims of bullying (Mynard & Joseph, 2000).The scale uses three options: not scored at all, scored once with a value of 1, and scored more than once with a value of 2. The instrument has four dimensions: physical victimization, verbal victimization, social manipulation, and property attacks.
The second scale used to measure resilience was The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) (Smith et al., 2008).The scale consists of six items and uses five answer choices: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree.Furthermore, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) was used to measure self-esteem.This scale consists of ten items.The RSE showed a Guttman scale reproducibility coefficient of 0.92, indicating excellent internal consistency.The reliability of the test over two weeks revealed a correlation of 0.85 and 0.88, indicating excellent stability (Smith et al., 2008).

Statistical Analysis
Hypothesis testing is a tool for making statistical conclusions about population data.Hypothesis testing is an analytical tool that tests assumptions and determines the probability of something being within a certain level of accuracy (Javanmard & Montanari, 2014).Using simple regression analysis, hypothesis testing was used to investigate the influence of self-esteem on the resilience of students who were bullying victims.Testing the difference in resilience between male and female victims of bullying was performed using a t-test.The research hypothesis was tested using the SPSS version 26.00 program to avoid the risk of manual calculation errors.

RESULTS
Before conducting hypothesis testing, we performed descriptive analysis to determine the achievement of respondents on the research variables.Descriptive statistics is a numerical and graphical technique to organize, present, and analyze data (Fisher & Marshall, 2009).Table 2 shows that the mean for male respondents for the resilience variable was 18.93, with a standard deviation of 3.58.The distribution of male respondents was mostly in the moderate category (48.00%), followed by high (33.00%),low (18.00%), and very high (3.00%).For female respondents, the mean was 18.09, with a standard deviation of 4.30.The distribution of female respondents was mostly in the moderate category (41.00%), followed by low (28.00%),high (22.00%),very high (7.00%), and very low (2%).For the self-esteem variable, the mean for male respondents was 57.75, with a standard deviation of 11.12.The distribution of male respondents was mostly in the moderate category (65%), followed by high (17.50%),low (12.5%),very high, and very low (2.5%).The mean for female respondents was 61.68, with a standard deviation of 7.76.The distribution of female respondents was mostly in the moderate category (70.00%), followed by high (15.00%),low (10.00%), and very high (5.00%).

Table 2. Descriptive Analysis
Testing the hypothesis using the t-test and simple regression requires classical assumption requirements, which include normality, homogeneity, and linearity tests.The test can be seen in table 3. The normality test produces a significance of 0.797 > 0.05.The self-esteem linearity test for resilience has a significance of 0.342> 0.05.Furthermore, the homogeneity test obtained a value of 0.263 > α 0.05, so it can be concluded that the male and female resilience data variance is homogeneous.The second hypothesis tested in this study aimed to investigate the difference in resilience between male and female students who were victims of bullying.Hypothesis testing was conducted using the independent samples t-test data analysis technique.The results of the hypothesis testing can be seen in Table 5.Based on Table 5, the 2-tailed Sig value is 0.039 < 0.05.Therefore, according to the decision-making basis for the independent samples t-test, it can be concluded that H1 is accepted, which means there is a difference in resilience between male and female students.

DISCUSSION
The descriptive analysis shows that overall, the resilience of bullying victims is in the moderate category.This indicates that students have the ability to withstand and face the most difficult phases in their lives and a positive ability to face problems or difficulties in their lives.Individuals with good resilience use positive skills to help control emotions and focus attention and behavior.However, there are still students who do not have resilience when faced with bullying.
Resilience is crucial because it allows someone to remain strong and overcome challenges and difficulties in life.The key to success is the ability to bounce back from failure or crisis and continue life with confidence and optimism.Resilience helps individuals deal with and overcome difficult situations that may cause stress and anxiety.Resilience can help reduce the risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems.Studies also show more resilient individuals have better physical health (Southwick et al., 2014).
The analysis shows differences in resilience between male and female students.In this survey, males have a higher resilience level than females.Rinaldi's research findings show differences in resilience between men and women.Men have higher resilience scores than women (Rinaldi, 2010).Sujadi et al. research findings explain that both male and female students have relatively high resilience, but the scores obtained by male students are higher than female students (Sujadi et al., 2021).Males are more able to withstand stressful conditions even as victims of bullying due to emotional control maturity than females.Emotional control is the ability to stay calm even under pressure.Individuals with good resilience use positive abilities to help control emotions and focus attention and behavior.Expressing feelings appropriately is part of resilience.Individuals who are not resilient tend to experience more anxiety, sadness, and anger than others Educational Guidance and Counseling Development Jounal, Vol. 6, No. 1, April 2023, 1 -13 and have more difficulty regaining self-control when experiencing disappointment.Individuals are more likely to get stuck in anger, sadness, or anxiety and are less effective in problem-solving.
However, Oktarina study shows that females are more resilient than males (Oktaverina, 2021).Likewise, research conducted by Oktasari & Wahyudin indicates that female students tend to have higher resilience than male students (Oktasari & Wahyudin, 2021).The average academic self-efficacy and resilience scores of female students are higher than male students (Salim & Fakhrurrozi, 2020).Furthermore, several other studies show no difference in resilience between mild stroke patients in males and females (Nyiagani, Kristinawati, Kristen, & Wacana, 2021).
It cannot be generally determined whether male students have higher resilience than female students.Some studies have shown differences in resilience between genders, as previously mentioned.However, these studies are not always consistent, and differences can be influenced by many factors such as age, culture, social context, and others (Cohen, Baziliansky, & Beny, 2014;Ong, Bergeman, & Boker, 2009;Ungar, 2008Ungar, , 2015)).Additionally, resilience is a complex trait that can be influenced by various factors, such as individual, environmental, and situational factors (Cusack et al., 2016;Sarwar, Inamulla, Khan, & Anwar, 2010).Furthermore, resilience is a skill that can be learned and developed by anyone, including male and female students.Therefore, providing appropriate support and training is essential to help students develop their resilience (Childs, Wit, & Ave, 2014).
This study also investigated the influence of self-esteem on resilience.Research findings indicate that self-esteem affects the resilience of students who are victims of bullying.Individuals with high self-esteem may be better able to face challenges and failures and be more confident in overcoming difficulties.Conversely, individuals with low self-esteem may lack confidence and have trouble recovering from failures and problems.The findings of this research are consistent with some previous studies showing an asymmetric relationship between self-esteem and resilience.The better an individual's self-esteem, the higher their resilience is predicted, and vice versa (Ellis, Farrington, & Hoskin, 2019;Karatas, 2011;Schreck & Conelea, 2018;Wood & Forest, 2016;Wulandari & Istiani, 2021).The research conducted by Sholichah, Paulana, & Fitriya shows a positive relationship between self-esteem and academic resilience (Sholichah, Paulana, & Fitriya, 2018).A study by Saraswati, Tiatri, & Sahrani states that self-esteem and school well-being play a role in student resilience.Separately, only self-esteem significantly affects resilience.This means that building resilience requires the joint part of self-esteem and school well-being (Saraswati, Tiatri, & Sahrani, 2017).However, resilience can also be used to build high self-esteem.Research findings show that resilience-based programs can significantly increase self-esteem among teenagers with low socioeconomic status (Aunillah & Adiyanti, 2015).
This study has several limitations, even though it has been carefully conducted based on methods and procedures.The researchers acknowledge that this study has limitations and weaknesses that cannot be avoided.First, the data analysis in this study should have used a structural equation model by making gender a moderator variable.Second, the discussion in this study still needs to be considered comprehensive, but the researchers have tried their best to perfect this study.Third, the data collection in this study only used a scale aimed at students.Therefore, for future researchers, further data exploration is needed with various other data collection methods.

CONCLUSION
Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that 86 students have experienced bullying from their peers.The resilience of students who have been bullied falls into the moderate category, indicating that some of them cannot cope with difficult situations while others have high resilience.The testing also showed a difference in resilience between male and female students, with males scoring higher than females.Simple regression testing showed a significant influence of self-esteem on resilience.
Self-esteem can also be an essential factor that affects a person's ability to overcome challenges and develop psychological resilience.Individuals with high self-esteem may be more able to see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.In contrast, individuals with low selfesteem may feel hopeless and avoid challenging situations.However, it should be noted that the relationship between self-esteem and resilience is complex and can be influenced by other factors.Efforts to develop high resilience in students who have been bullied should understand the dominant factors that influence it.Counseling services can be used as interventions for students with low resilience.However, preventive efforts to prevent bullying are considered more effective.

Table 3 . Classical Assumption
This research examined two hypotheses.The first objective is to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and the resilience of students who have been bullied.UsingThe Effect of Self-Esteem on Resilience among Victims of Bullying: Does Gender Play a Role? version 26.00 of the SPSS application, testing was conducted.A basic regression test on selfesteem and resilience variables is displayed in Table4.Given that the table indicates that t = 3.73 with a significance level of 0.000 0.05, the hypothesis is accepted, indicating that self-esteem influences resilience.