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2086

GROUP COUNSELING’S EFFECTIVENESS USING ASSERTIVE

TRAINING TO REDUCE BULLYING VICTIMS' ANXIETY IN HIGH

SCHOOL

Rahmat Dwi Putra Sadeli

, Yeni Karneli

Faculty of Education, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia

rahmat.dwiputra@rocketmail.com

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Published: December 13

2022

The impact caused by bullying behavior is reducing student concentration,

decreased learning achievement, difficulty socializing, children become

timid, often anxious to mental disorders. One way that can be done to reduce

bullying anxiety among students is to provide group counseling services

using assertive training techniques. The purpose of this study was to reveal

differences in bullying anxiety of experimental group students before and

after participating in group counseling using assertive training techniques,

bullying anxiety of control group students before and after participating in

group counseling without special treatment, and to reveal differences in

bullying anxiety of experimental group students who participated in group

counseling using assertive training techniques with control groups without

special treatment. This research is Quasi Experiment. The sample of this

study was 12 students for the experimental group and 12 students for the

control group. The sample technique used was purposive sampling. The

statistical analysis of the data used in this study was nonparametric

statistics. There was a significant difference in bullying anxiety in the

experimental group before and after participating in group counseling

services using assertive training techniques, there was a significant

difference in bullying anxiety in the control group before and after being

given group counseling services without special treatment, there were

differences in bullying anxiety in the ex-group bullying anxiety. Group

counseling services are provided using assertive training techniques with

control groups provided group counseling services without special

treatment. Thus, group counseling services using assertive training

techniques are effective in reducing student bulllying anxiety.

Keywords: bullying anxiety,

bullying, assertive training,

experimental group, control group

This work is licensed under CC

BY-SA 4.0

INTRODUCTION

The meaning of the word bullying comes from the English language, namely "bull" and

"bully" which means the act of bluffing. Bullying is an act of intimidation of the strong against the

weak (Coloroso, 2006). According to Putri Dewi & Karneli (2021) explained that bullying is the

act of a person who seeks to harm psychologically or physically against a weaker individual or

group of people, by a stronger individual or group of people. The case of bullying is now a global

issue, Hinduja et al. (2019) explained that from 2016 to 2019, it was known that the number of

bullying cases that occurred in the United States of America (USA) experienced a drastic increase

in 2019, especially those who were victims of bullying. The results of the data explain that out of

5000 students in the USA, 3650 students became victims of bullying and 1350 people became

bullies (Hinduja et al., 2019). Especially in Indonesia, KPAI data explains that bullying cases from

2014 to 2019 tend to increase, in 2014 there were 159 cases, in 2015 there were 154 cases, in 2016

there were 97 cases, in 2018 there were 107 cases and in 2019 there were 153 cases. According to

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Jayani (In Lestari & Firman, 2021). Based on data from the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development Indonesia, 41.1% of bullying cases in Indonesia are ranked fifth

largest after Morocco. Especially in West Sumatra, according to the UPTD PPA West Sumatra

report from January to September 2019 there were 30 cases of bullying victims. Segiwa (2008)

explained the impact caused by bullying behavior, namely being alone, crying, wanting to change

schools, reducing student concentration, decreased learning achievement, difficulty socializing,

children becoming timid, often depressed, quiet, not excited, often anxious to mental disorders.

Anxiety is a fear that is continuous and responded to by the somatic system or autonomic

nervous system (Dieleman et al., 2015). With the presence of anxiety, someone will be in a state

of wakefulness and alert due to facing dangerous situations in their life (Rycroft & Carstairs, 2018).

According to Halgin (In Khulifah & Karnelli, 2022), anxiety is more future-oriented, refers to the

condition of the individual who feels worry, anxiety, tension, and uncontrollable insecurity

regarding the possibility of a bad one. Low levels of anxiety can help individuals to prepare to take

steps to prevent harm or minimize the impact of the danger. The above statement is reinforced by

research from Onyekuru & Ugwu (2017) which explains that a person who experiences anxiety

will feel helpless because of their incompetence and helplessness. In research, anxiety is described

as a form of feeling as well as the behavior of a person hoping or trying not to meet with others

because they have feelings of fear or worry if they are in any social situation (Soma & Karneli,

2020). Bullying anxiety according to Ardiavianti et al. (2019), resulting in feelings of self-loathing,

inhibiting one's ability in the long run will affect the academic ability and social environment of

individuals outside the school environment. Beck (In Wells et al., 2006) explained that anxiety is

a condition due to thought processes that deviate from the way normal people think and May

(1967) explains anxiety is the suppression of fear characterized as a threat to some people that is

seen as important in the existence of the individual's personality.

Anxiety according to Beck et al. (1988) divides the anxiety process into four components,

namely subjective, neurophysiologic, autonomic and panic. The causes of anxiety are also studied

by Adwas et al. (2019) explaining that anxiety is caused from 3 views/theories, namely

Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Theory (Anxiety is reflected as a relationship or expression of

anger), Behavioral Theory (Anxiety is caused by unpredictable positive and negative

reinforcement, especially if the individual feels uncomfortable when the avoidance attitude is an

effective attitude), and Cognitive Theory (Anxiety in this theory is due to the inability to predict,

control and obtain the desired goal).

At SMAN 6 Padang, group counseling services provided in schools focus more on

individual/classical counseling on victims, but have not been shown to be effective with the

increasing number of victims of bullying anxiety. The above statement is reinforced by research

from Ardiavianti et al. (2019) victims of bullying experience anxiety, fear of associating with

social life and fear of leaving class and returning home alone and this is also explained by Valo et

al. (2012) that students who experienced bullying in school experienced 25% in men and 20% in

women.

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The dotted rejection of the above problems is interesting to study further. In this case, the

solution offered to reduce student bullying anxiety is with group counseling guidance using

assertive training techniques. One of the advantages of group counseling using assertive training

is that it trains students' ability to express what they think, what they believe and feel. Assertive

training techniques are also used to improve problem-solving abilities.

This assertive training technique has also been tested in previous studies, namely the research

of Avşar and Alkaya (2017) regarding the effectiveness of assertive training in school-age children

explaining that assertive training is very effective in reducing the behavior of victims of bullying.

Research by Herman et al. (2020) on the effect of assertive training on bullying junior high school

children explains that assertive training is effective in reducing the impact of bullying victims and

can be implemented as a strategy in preventing bullying behavior at school. By producing products

in the form of group counseling guides with assertive training, it is hoped that students can be

interested and BK teachers can easily carry out group counseling in reducing bullying anxiety.

METHOD

This research is a quantitative research with an experimental type of research. This research

method was carried out in order to obtain significant group differences. Sugiyono (2015) explained

that experimental research is research that is used to find the effects of one treatment on another

under controlled conditions. This experiment was carried out to determine the effect of a treatment

given intentionally by the researcher. Thus, this study is a predictive study, namely predicting the

consequences of a treatment of its bound variables.

This research was conducted at SMA Negeri 6 Padang. The sampling technique used in this

study was purposive sampling technique. This sampling technique was not done randomly, but

thoughtfully. Therefore, the sample criteria in this study were 24 students who experienced

bullying anxiety at school. The statistical analysis of the data used in this study was nonparametric

statistics. The research instrument used was the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) with the Likert

Scale model, the data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and Kolmogorov-

Smirnov Two Independent Samples.

The instrument used in this study is in the form of a questionnaire with a Likert scale model.

The questionnaire used in this study to classify students who experienced bullying anxiety with

those who did not and to determine the level of student anxiety. The respondents were asked to

choose one answer that suits their characteristics by ticking it (√).

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Based on the results of the study, the analysis carried out can provide an overview of the

need for parental attention to be more caring for fellow students. Especially to reduce the anxiety

of students affected by bullying. BK teachers / counselors always coordinate with these parties and

build cooperation with parents and internal parties from the school so that in the future they can

provide understanding to students to provide information through various counseling services,

with these efforts it is hoped that students can reduce bullying anxiety.

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The first hypothesis to be tested in this study is expressed in the form of sentences as follows.

Ha: Accept H0 and subtract H1 when the possibility (sig 2-tailed) ≥ alpha (α = 0.05).

Ho: Subtract H0 and accept H1 when the possibility (sig 2-tailed) ≤ alpha (α = 0.05).

The hypothesis was tested using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test which was used to analyze

the results of paired observations from two data whether different or not. meanwhile, for two

independent data using Kolmogorov Smirnov formula 2 Independent Samples. The results of this

study are calculated with the SPSS program version 16.00, the results of which can be seen in the

following table. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test analysis is used in tables 1 and 2, Kolmogorov

Smirnov 2 Independent Samples formula in table 3.

Table 1. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test Analysis Results Differences in Bullying Anxiety in

Pretest and Posttest Experimental Groups

Test Statistics

Experimental Posttest - Experimental Pretest

-3,068

asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)

.002

a. Based on positive ranks.

b. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

Based on table 1, it can be seen that the probability figures from Asymp. Sig (2-tailed)

bullying anxiety of the experimental group was 0.002 or the probability was below alpha 0.05

(0.002 < 0.05). From these results, Ho was rejected and Hi was accepted. Hence, the first

hypothesis tested in this study is acceptable, namely there was a significant difference in bullying

anxiety of experimental group students before and after being given group counseling with

assertive training techniques.

Table 2. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test Analysis Results Differences in Pretest Bullying Anxiety

and Posttest Control Group

Test Statistics

Posttest - Control Pretest

-3,095

asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)

.002

a. Based on positive ranks.

b. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test

Based on table 2, it can be seen that the probability figures of Asymp. Sig (2-tailed) control

group bullying anxiety of 0.002 or its probability below alpha 0.05 (0.002 < 0.05). From these

results, Ho was rejected and Hi was accepted. Hence, the second hypothesis tested in this study is

Group Counseling’s Effectiveness Using Assertive Training to Reduce Bullying Victims' Anxiety in

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acceptable, namely there was a significant difference in bullying anxiety of control group students

before and after being given group counseling without specific techniques.

Table 3. Kolmogorov Smirnov Analysis Results 2 Independent Samples Bullying Anxiety

Experimental Group and Control Group

Test Statistics

Experiment Posttest

asymp. Sig. (2-tailed)

.009

a. Grouping Variable: Group

Based on table 3, it can be seen that the probability figures of Asymp. Sig (2-tailed) bullying

anxiety in the experimental group and control group was 0.009 or the probability was below alpha

0.05 (0.009 < 0.05). From these results, the third hypothesis of this study is acceptable, namely

there was a significant difference in the level of student bullying anxiety between the experimental

group given group counseling using assertive training techniques and the control group given

group counseling without special techniques.

CONCLUSION

There was a decrease in the average anxiety score of the pretest group and the posttest of the

experimental group, due to the activeness and motivation of students to participate in the

implementation of group counseling using assertive training techniques.

The bullying anxiety that students experience must be prevented. One of the efforts to reduce

that can be done by providing group counseling services that serve to enrich the cognitive realm

and have an effect on the affective and psychomotor realm of students. Group counseling will be

more effective if implemented with assertive training techniques compared to using regular

structured group counseling.

For BK / Counselor teachers, assertive training should be implemented in reducing bullying

anxiety through counseling guidance services, especially in group counseling services. Therefore,

it is very necessary to play an active role of BK teachers, as well as students in implementing group

counseling using assertive training techniques in reducing bullying anxiety among students.

For future research, the researchers suggest more study conducted to delve deeper into this

topic since bullying is a sensitive issue and dealing with it means dealing with someone’s mental

condition. Also, future research are expected to disclose more methods to handle the aftermath of

bullying cases.

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