Abstract

Positive psychological well-being is essential for engaging children in school and family life. This research examines the influence of deviant factors (virtual violence, bullying, and socioeconomic status) on the psychological well-being of schoolchildren in rural South Punjab. Using convenience sampling, 200 male students from government lower-secondary schools across six districts were recruited for this quantitative cross-sectional research. AMOS 21.0 was used to apply Structural Equation Modeling to assess the impact of deviant factors on the students’ psychological well-being. The results reveal that virtual violence causes a 15.1% variance, representing the most considerable negative impact on schoolchildren’s psychological well-being among all deviant factors. This research concludes that the three deviant factors affect students' emotional resilience and mental state, resulting in their poor psychological well-being. Hence, it is strongly recommended that school management, teachers, and parents collaborate to create a healthier environment through awareness programs and parental guidance initiatives. 

Key Words

Psychological Well-Being, Bullying, Virtual Violence, Socioeconomic Status, Schoolchildren

Introduction

Schoolchildren with positive psychological well-being tend to perform better, while negative psychological well-being can severely impact their performance (Chaudhry et al., 2024). Numerous factors influence the psychological well-being of schoolchildren; however, the current study is focused on the influence of bullying, virtual violence (from animated movies, cartoons, and online games), and low socioeconomic status (SES). Bullying in school is harmful to both victims and the perpetrator (Man et al., 2022), and virtual violence causes behavioral, cognitive, and psychological effects (Mahmoud et al., 2022; Bedekar & Joshi, 2020; Afriwilda & Mulawarman, 2021) while low SES negatively impacts students’ mental health (Hyun, 2018). 

This research investigated the impact of school bullying, virtual violence, and low SES on the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren (grades 6 to 8) in rural South Punjab, Pakistan. According to Manzoor et al., (2024), bullying in academic settings is a growing issue, and Pakistani institutions are facing an alarming situation with challenges in providing a safe environment for students. Parveen et al., (2023) found that students from the province of Punjab experience aggressive behavior from their peers, leading to psychological health challenges. There is significant evidence of a notable connection between school bullying and students’ psychological well-being in the context of Punjab (Batool, 2023). Strong evidence from Khaliq and Rasool's (2020) study suggests that students exposed to peer aggression at school exhibit antisocial behavior. Findings from a study conducted in Multan and Bahawalpur (South Punjab) discovered that 8th-grade students are the most affected by school bullying, leading to serious psychological issues (Saleem et al., 2015). 

Like bullying, virtual violence also negatively impacts the psychological well-being of school students. In accordance with a study by Sheikh et al., (2023), cartoons and animated movies contain content that promotes rude behavior and hinders the psychological development of students. Schoolchildren in Multan (South Punjab) have been found to develop behavioral issues from watching animated movies and cartoons, and they often imitate their heroes’ actions in real life (Mahmood et al., 2020). Video games, specifically those developed with violent themes, obstruct the development of prosocial behavior (Yousaf et al., 2023); therefore, parents need to take responsibility for monitoring their children's online gameplay. 

Research offers evidence of a connection between virtual violence and low SES, which affects the psychological development of schoolchildren. School students in Punjab from low SES families are more negatively impacted by bullying (Shahid, Rauf, et al., 2022) and virtual violence (Hameed et al., 2023) compared to students from well-off families. UNICEF (2021) considers children who live in crowded houses to be poor, and these children experience numerous deprivations in Pakistan. In research (Javaid, 2021), school teachers revealed in a survey that parents engage their children in labor and other income-generating activities due to their low literacy rate and SES. Hence, children face psychological pressures because of the lower level of parental education, large family size, and low SES of their families (Yasmeen et al., 2022). 

The research indicates that people residing in rural South Punjab are among the most deprived in the province, where the low SES of families severely impacts the mental and physical well-being of children (Ahmad & Faridi, 2020; Shahid, Ahmed et al., 2022). For the present research, six districts are selected from South Punjab to investigate the impact of school bullying, virtual violence, and low SES on the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren. A report by PPAF (2018) states that among the six selected districts, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Vehari, and Lodhran are among the ten most deprived districts, while Multan ranks 15th and Khanewal 16th in South Punjab. 

According to previous research, Pakistani government schools cater to the needs of less privileged students (Aslam et al., 2019) while rural areas face relatively higher poverty levels compared to their urban counterparts (Haque et al., 2021). The present study aims to investigate the relationship between three deviant factors—bullying, virtual violence, and low SES—and the psychological well-being of schoolchildren, to understand the challenges faced by students in rural South Punjab, Pakistan. To the researcher’s knowledge, no prior studies have examined these three deviant factors (all together in one research study) concerning the challenges related to the psychological well-being of schoolchildren in rural South Punjab.

Considering the research gap, Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) is used to understand how deviant factors contribute to schoolchildren’s psychological well-being in rural South Punjab. This framework enables the simultaneous investigation of different interpersonal factors and traits concerning the psychological well-being of an individual. Antony (2022) explains that, in line with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, the process of children’s development involves “bi-directional and reciprocal relationships” between the child and their surrounding environment (parents, teachers, and peers).

As Stanger (2011) noted, Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory presents five environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem, macrosystems, and chronosystem) to understand children’s developmental process. Although Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is widely used to understand child development, it offers minimal insights regarding bullying (Analisah & Indartono, 2019). However, the present research utilizes Bronfenbrenner's framework to understand the causes of school bullying and the deviant behavior of peers (microsystem). Kalinowski et al., (2021) explain that online games, animated movies, and cartoons shape an environment (exosystem) for children to interact, while these media resources form another immediate environment (microsystem) in which children experience direct parental involvement and peer interaction, ultimately impacting their behavioral development. According to Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, low SES in terms of family poverty and poor housing is considered an immediate environmental factor (microsystem) impacting the well-being of the children (Ipinge & Seroto, 2024). 

Research Questions

This study responds to the following research questions:

1. How does low SES influence the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan?

2. What is the effect of bullying on the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan?

3. How does virtual violence impact the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan?




Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses are presented to respond to the research questions:

1. H1: A strong correlation exists between low SES and the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan.

2. H2: The relationship between school bullying and the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan, is significant.

3. H3: The psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan, is considerably influenced by their exposure to virtual violence.

Method

Research design

This is a cross-sectional survey study. A structured survey was designed using a 5-point Likert scale (ranging from 1-Never to 5- Always) and was administered to collect data from male students in lower secondary schools selected for the study. 




Population

All male students in lower secondary government schools across the six selected districts were considered the population for the research.




Sampling

There are 14 districts in South Punjab (Pakistan) and six districts were selected for this research using the convenience sampling technique. To better answer the research questions regarding the low SES of schoolchildren some of the poorest districts Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Vehari, Lodhran, Multan, and Khanewal were chosen. Four government lower secondary schools were selected randomly from rural areas of each district. 

The research by Sagan (2019) suggests that if the effect size of the model is strong or moderate (>0.3), the adequate sample size should range between 10 and 150. However, a minimum sample size of 200 is required to avoid Heywood cases in the estimation process, ensuring the empirical identification of the model. Therefore, 200 male students (grades 6 – 8) were selected using a simple random sampling technique from all 24 schools (7 – 9 male students from each school depending on the availability of the students). 







Procedure and Data Collection

The interview questionnaire (reviewed by a linguistic expert) was translated into Urdu for the convenience of participants. Consent from concerned authorities was obtained before the research was initiated. Students’ parents were contacted and informed about the research study to obtain their consent after approval from the schools’ headmasters. All stakeholders including parents, teachers, and students were informed that they could decide not to participate in the survey and quit the process at any point during the data collection process. 

All 19 questionnaire items are divided into four sections to address the research questions. Three sections correspond to three deviant factors—bullying, virtual violence, and low SES, whereas the fourth section relates to psychological well-being (the dependent variable). IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0 (2021) was employed to check the reliability of questionnaire items using Cronbach’s alpha, showing strong internal consistency for each factor measured. Values between 0.868 and 0.953 for Cronbach's alpha indicate strong reliability for the measures of bullying, virtual violence, low SES, and psychological well-being. 

The researcher administered the survey while helping students fill out their questionnaires. Students were instructed to use pseudonyms to keep their responses anonymous. Hence, the responses were then translated from Urdu to English after the completion of data collection. After translating the participants’ responses into English, data were recorded in SPSS for factor analysis.




Data Analysis

To identify and validate the underlying dimensions of the questionnaire items, this quantitative study employed factor analysis. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicates that the identified factors represent the constructs and accurately validate the measurement model. AMOS 21.0 was used to perform SEM to refine the analysis. This approach is used to assess the overall model fit and validate the measurement and structural models.

Results

Total Variance Explained

Total Variance Explained demonstrates that the survey items can be effectively grouped into four factors with considerable explanatory power. The factors extracted along with their eigenvalues and the percentage of variance they contribute, are presented in Table 1, including the cumulative variance from each factor and all previous ones. Eigenvalues are accepted as a guiding principle for deciding the number of factors to be incorporated into the final model. Researchers (Kaiser, 1974; Cattell, 1966; Hair et al., 2010) suggest that the eigenvalue must be higher than 1.0 for the factors to be included in the final model. Hence, an eigenvalue greater than 1.0 was set as a benchmark to include the factors in the model. Referring to the cumulative percentage of extracted factors, the contributions to the variance made by the first factor are 21.092%, by the second factor are 41.726%, and by the third factor are 62.219%. Together, these factors explain 79.353% of the total variance, indicating a robust factor structure.




 

Table 1

Total Variance Explained

Component	Initial Eigenvalues			Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings			Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings
	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %
1	7.091	37.322	37.322	7.091	37.322	37.322	4.007	21.092	21.092
2	3.204	16.861	54.183	3.204	16.861	54.183	3.921	20.635	41.726
3	2.702	14.222	68.405	2.702	14.222	68.405	3.894	20.493	62.219
4	2.080	10.948	79.353	2.080	10.948	79.353	3.256	17.134	79.353
5	.475	2.500	81.854
6	.414	2.179	84.032
7	.373	1.963	85.996
8	.358	1.882	87.878
9	.306	1.609	89.487
10	.276	1.451	90.938
11	.262	1.378	92.316
12	.233	1.229	93.545
13	.219	1.155	94.700
14	.191	1.005	95.705
15	.187	.986	96.691
16	.181	.955	97.646
17	.174	.916	98.562
18	.142	.750	99.311
19	.131	.689	100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

 




Table 2 shows the distribution of 19 items into four components. Component 1 comprises the items related to self-motivation and psychological well-being, which include contributing to happiness for others and participating in extracurricular activities. Five items addressing the parent-child relationship correspond to the second component. Items such as liking powerful characters, indulging in fighting, and enjoying violent cartoons constitute Component 3. Being mocked by classmates, bullied by peers, and the feelings of wanting to cry are related to the psychological impacts of bullying, and these items together account for Component 4.




 

Table 2

Rotated Component Matrix

Items	Component
	1	2	3	4
I have a strong relationship with my parents.		.798
I always have enough pocket money to buy whatever I want.		.882
My parents generously spend money on me.		.887
My parents provided for my basic needs before I even asked.		.884
My parents make an effort to fulfill my desires promptly.		.872
I am bullied by one of my classmates.				.886
My classmates mock me and call me names.				.906
I feel like crying when someone bullies me.				.833
My peers irritate me and taunt me.				.904
I enjoy watching cartoons and animated movies, as well as playing video games with fighting characters.			.819
I like to play video games that feature character combat.			.860
I like to kick, hit, or punch my peers, just like I see in cartoons, animated movies, and video games.			.835
The powerful characters from cartoons, animated movies, and video games who defeat their opponents are my heroes.			.857
When I play with my friends, each of us wants to take on the role of the most powerful character who defeats their opponents.			.874
I am happy with my parents' behavior.	.876
I participate in games and extracurricular activities.	.856
I am motivated to succeed in life.	.863
I actively contribute to other people's happiness and well-being.	.808
People around me are very polite.	.866
Extraction Method: PCA. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in five iterations.

 




The strength of the factors is supported by reliability and validity metrics. Good convergent validity is shown by the value of Average Variance Extracted (AVE), which is above 0.7, and Composite Reliability (CR) values exceeding 0.9 indicate high reliability. Low Maximum Shared Variance (MSV) values demonstrate distinctiveness among the factors.




 

Table 3

Reliability and Validity

Factor	CR	AVE	MSV
Virtual violence	0.925	0.712	0.212
Psychological well-being	0.940	0.758	0.212
Socioeconomic factor	0.930	0.727	0.157
Bullying	0.919	0.740	0.084

 




The factors under examination are supported by the Rotated Component Matrix which shows that all 19 items are well aligned with their respective components. Hence, the data are valid and reliable for examining how the psychological well-being of schoolchildren is affected by deviant factors.

 

CFA Model

The CFA model performs well in representing the underlying structure of the data as shown by the CFA model’s fit indices in Table 4. The model fits the data excellently indicated by the CMIN/DF ratio of 1.740 (within the acceptable range of 1 and 3). The value (above threshold) of CFI (Comparative Fit Index) at 0.974 is an indication of a very good fit for the model in comparison to the baseline model. Therefore, the hypothesized factor structure represents the data accurately. The value 0.908 for GFI (Goodness-of-Fit Index) exceeds the threshold of 0.90, which is a good sign indicating the model fits the data well. The discrepancy between the observed and anticipated correlations is very small as suggested by the value of 0.046 for SRMR, which is below the acceptable value (0.08).




 

Table 4

Model Fit Measures for the Structured Model

	Estimate	Threshold	Interpretation
CMIN	253.994	--	--
DF	146	--	--
CMIN / DF	1.740	From 1 to 3	Excellent
CFI	0.974	> 0.95	Excellent
GFI	0.908	> 0.90	Excellent
SRMR	0.046	< 0.08	Excellent
RMSEA	0.053	< 0.06	Excellent
Pclose	0.323	> 0.05	Excellent

 




A value of 0.053 for RMSEA falls within the threshold value (<0.06), indicating a good model fit. With a PClose value of 0.323 surpassing the threshold value (>0.05), there is a good indication of the model fit. The goodness of the fit indices (RMSEA, GFI, CMIN/DF, CFI, SRMR, and PClose) exceed or fall within the thresholds indicating the effectiveness of the CFA Model. Therefore, the model effectively represents the data and supports the validity of the hypothesized factor structure.

Figure 1

CFA model




Structural Equation Modeling

The SEM model evaluates how deviant factors influence the psychological well-being of schoolchildren. It is done by analyzing the path coefficients and determination coefficients from the data.

The positive value of 0.340 for standardized regression weight is an indication of the moderate positive effect of SES on psychological well-being while the path coefficient (?) of 0.340 shows the strength of this association. The R² (Determination Coefficient) value of 0.116 implies that the socioeconomic factor contributes to the variance in psychological well-being. The statistically significant C.R. (Critical Ratio) value of 5.810 (P = 0.000) and a standard error of 0.084 confirm that socioeconomic factor positively impacts psychological well-being. 

The negative value (-0.248) for the standardized regression weight and path coefficient (?) indicates the negative impact of bullying on psychological well-being. The variance in psychological well-being attributable to bullying is indicated by a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.061. A standard error of 0.071 and a statistically significant C.R. (critical ratio) of -4.427 (P = 0.000) indicate that bullying affects psychological well-being negatively.

Figure 2

SEM model




Table 5

Summary of the Structural Model

	Standardized Regression Weight	Path Coefficient (?)	Determination Coefficient (R2)	Standard Error	C.R	P	Result
Socioeconomic factor à Psychological well-being	0.340	0.340	0.116	.084	5.810	0.000	H1 supported
Bullying à Psychological well-being	-0.248	-0.248	0.061	.071	-4.427	0.000	H2 supported
Virtual violence à Psychological well-being	-0.389	-0.389	0.151	.065	-6.739	0.000	H3 supported

 




The standardized regression weight (-0.389) and path coefficient (?) reflect a significant negative impact on psychological well-being. Variance in psychological well-being due to virtual violence is indicated by the determination coefficient (R²) of 0.151. Virtual violence impacts psychological well-being negatively as depicted by the statistically significant critical ratio of -6.739 (P = 0.000) and a standard error of 0.065.

Effect Size of Emotions on the Behavior of Lower Secondary Schoolchildren

As described by Funder and Ozer (2019), “the magnitude of the relationship between dependent and independent variables is known as effect size”. In the presented SEM Model, the effect size of emotions (virtual violence, bullying, and SES) on the behavior of schoolchildren, as indicated by psychological well-being, can be inferred through multiple metrics, including Cohen's d (1992) and R-squared.

While Cohen's d is not typically calculated using SEM, the large values of path coefficients in Table 5 observed for virtual violence and socioeconomic status suggest relatively large effect sizes when compared to the effect size of bullying. Hence, virtual violence, bullying, and SES collectively influence the behavior of schoolchildren in rural South Punjab as manifested in psychological well-being.

Discussion

The findings of the current research offer a comprehensive view of how these factors contribute to the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab.




Impact of SES

The results reveal that SES has a moderate positive effect and accounts for 11.6% of the variance in psychological well-being. The socioeconomic factor stands in second place among the deviant factors impacting psychological well-being. Hence, the findings support the first hypothesis (H1: A strong correlation exists between low SES and the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab).

Due to their low SES, schoolchildren experience difficulties in emotional and cognitive development, ultimately contributing to poor psychological health (microsystem). The findings of the present study suggest that parents need to pay more attention to the well-being of their children so they feel well taken care of. These findings are consistent with the research (Ahmad & Faridi, 2020) in the context of South Punjab and specifically with the research studies (Javaid, 2021); and Yasmeen et al., 2022) conducted in Pakistan. However, our findings contrast with those of a study conducted by Ahmed et al., (2022) in another province (KPK) of Pakistan, which suggests that students in lower secondary schools experience high levels of psychological well-being despite their low socioeconomic conditions. This discrepancy may be due to the limited scope of their research and the cultural differences between the two provinces.




Effects of Bullying

Our findings indicate that bullying is a negative predictor and according to the results, there is a 6.1% variance in schoolchildren’s psychological well-being. Therefore the results confirm the acceptance of the second hypothesis (H2: The relationship between school bullying and the psychological well-being of lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan, is significant.). Hence, the results offer significant evidence to establish that bullied schoolchildren feel irritated when they are mocked by their peers and feel helpless (microsystem). 

It implies that the bullying behavior of the schoolchildren which includes but is not limited to mocking, calling names, and irritating peers causes severe psychological issues for the students. Findings of the research in the context of Pakistan (Manzoor et al., 2024; Parveen et al., 2023; Saleem et al., 2015) and Iran (Salehi et al., 2016) align with the results of the current study indicating a clear connection between adverse psychological outcomes as the consequence of deviant peers and school bullying. The alignment of our results with previous studies highlights the strength of this research and the urgency of target interventions in rural areas of South Punjab.




Influence of Virtual Violence on Psychological Well-being 

Virtual violence, with a path coefficient (?) of -0.389, exhibits the most considerable negative effect on psychological well-being among the factors studied. There is a 15% variance in psychological well-being due to virtual violence, as depicted by the R² value of 0.151. Consequently, the psychological well-being of schoolchildren is severely impacted by virtual violence in comparison to school bullying and low SES. Thus, the findings support the third hypothesis (H3: The psychological well-being of the lower secondary schoolchildren in rural South Punjab, Pakistan, is considerably influenced by their exposure to virtual violence.). The acceptance of the third hypothesis confirms that schoolchildren acquire aggression when they play video games, watch cartoons and animated movies, and then employ the learned behavior on their peers (exosystem and microsystem).

The negative and significant impact of virtual violence highlights that increased exposure to virtual violence correlates with decreased psychological well-being among students. There is a clear indication that schoolchildren who like to mimic their favorite powerful characters are more likely to engage in fights with their peers and siblings. Hence they perceive violence in video games, cartoons, and animated movies that they would transfer it in the form of aggression. Our findings are aligned with the literature (Mahmoud, et al., 2022) that suggests that children tend to imitate the characters of the cartoons they watch because they have a “positive attitude toward cartoon violence”. The findings of our research are in line with the research by AlHazzaa et al., (2023), indicating that schoolchildren are at high risk of showing aggressive behavior to their peers and siblings. This is a process of transferring aggression that they acquire while watching cartoons and playing video games.




Future Implications

There are certain implications and recommendations to improve the psychological well-being of schoolchildren. First of all, there is a great need for collaborative efforts from parents and teachers for the well-being of the students. Considering the low socioeconomic background of rural South Punjab, provincial governments must intervene in the training of school management and teachers to engage the students' parents using parental engagement and guidance programs, fixing the issues for the children in the microsystem. Such programs must include awareness and anti-bullying campaigns, media literacy, and peer support programs. Collective efforts of school management, parents, teachers, and students will help establish a healthy and safe environment for children not only at school but also at home.

Limitations of the Research

For future researchers, it is important to be aware of a few limitations of this study. This research study focused on male students, from low SES backgrounds (Aslam et al., 2019; Haque et al., 2021), studying in grades 6, 7, and 8 in government lower secondary schools in rural South Punjab. The SES of the grade 6 to 8 students may vary between private and government lower secondary schools. It would be valuable to include students from private schools and female students from grades 6 to 8 for more comprehensive results. 

The current research perceived the low SES of the participants of the study from previous research (UNICEF, 2021; Javed et al., 2021; Yasmeen et al., 2022; Aslam et al., 2019; Haque et al., 2021) instead of gathering demographic details to determine their family SES. Therefore, the results may vary if the current demographic details of families are collected for the determination of the schoolchildren’s SES. 

Conclusion

The results of the research lead to the conclusion that schoolchildren studying in government lower secondary schools in rural South Punjab experience poor psychological well-being due to the influence of deviant factors (virtual violence, bullying, and low SES). 

The R² value of 0.151, indicating that 15% of the variance in schoolchildren’s psychological well-being is due to virtual violence, highlights the lack of parental awareness in managing and monitoring the use of technological tools. The uncontrolled and unmanaged online activities of schoolchildren make them prone to violence with their peers and siblings. The R² value of 0.061, which indicates that school bullying causes a 6.1% variance in the psychological well-being of students, leads to their isolation, which is an indication of the absence of awareness on how to deal with bullying. Poor psychological well-being among schoolchildren is reflected by reduced interest in activities, aggressive behavior, and low levels of motivation. The SES factor, accounting for 11.6% of the variance in students’ psychological well-being, points to the limited collaboration between parents, teachers, and school management, which could otherwise help overcome these challenges.

Hence, it is concluded that all three deviant factors exert pressure on students' emotional resilience, cognitive health, and mental state, leading to poor psychological well-being. It is highly recommended that parents be more supportive and spend more time overseeing their children’s activities. Since favorable psychological functioning is necessary for children to perform optimally in school and family life, the government, school management, teachers, and parents must urgently initiate collaborative efforts to mitigate the impact of deviant factors.

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