Abstract
The study investigated prevalence influence of school bullying on mental health among students’ in junior secondary schools in Port Harcourt metropolis. A survey design was adopted for the study. The study made use of three specific objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses. Population of the study consisted of 42,670 students of public junior secondary school of J. S. S. 2 and 3 of 2023/2024 academic session in Port Harcourt metropolis (according to data from Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board, Port Harcourt). The sample size of 375 students was obtained using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) formula. The sample size were collected from 19 public junior secondary schools in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State using random sampling technique. Data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire titled ‘‘Prevalence Influence of School Bullying on Students’ Mental Health (PISBSMH) Questionnaire’’ from the respondents. Data gathered were analyzed using the mean and standard deviation to answer the three research questions posed while t-test statistics was used to test the three null hypotheses formulated at 0.05 level of significance level. The findings revealed that verbal bullying, physical bullying and social bullying influences mental health of students in Junior Secondary Schools. Therefore, it was recommended amongst others that School authority should provide training for staff on recognizing, addressing and reporting bullying. They should also provide access to mental health resources and counseling for students affected by bullying, promoting resilience and coping strategies.