Teenage Students' Perceptions of Gender Customs and Their Relationship with Bullying Behavior in Saudi Arabia 2024

Abstract

Background: Detecting the magnitude and determinants of bullying among Teenage students is important for starting suitable preventive measures. Unfair gender norms are becoming more widely recognized as a threat to one's health and wellbeing. Despite the fact that adolescence is a crucial developmental stage before adulthood, little is known about how teenagers view gender norms.
This study aimed: To assess the teenage students' perceptions of gender customs and their relationship with bullying behavior in Saudi Arabia 2024.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of a sample of 200 students 11-17 years from five public schools in Saudi Arabia was conducted. Data were collected via interviewer administered questionnaires using the Gender Norms Scales and School Life Survey tool for bullying.
Results: There was not a significant distinction between male and female teenage students' opinions toward relationship participation; nevertheless, boys were marginally more tolerant of partnerships than girls (54.4% and 46.1%, respectively). However, girls were substantially more likely than boys to say that they agreed with a sexual double standard in reference to boy/girl interactions (75% vs. 46.4%, P < 0.001). Although there was no discernible difference between the perceptions of girls and boys regarding gender stereotyped qualities, guys were more likely to endorse them, and 64.3% of them felt more agreement with these traits than girls did (57.4%). Additionally, traditional gender roles were more likely to be expressed by boys than by girls (74% vs. 52.9%, P < 0.001). Nonetheless, 51% of students thought it was OK to make fun of a boy who behaved like a girl, and 27.5% said it was acceptable to make fun of a girl who did the same. The degree of bullying and victimization experienced by students did not significantly correlate with any of the gender norms concepts that were explored.
Conclusions: Early adolescence is when the perception of unequal gender norms begins to emerge. While girls are more conservative and more prone to believe that there is a sexual double standard in reference to boy/girl interactions, boys are more tolerant of hetero-normative relationships among teenagers and are more likely to support stereotyped gender roles. Adolescents of both sexes also felt that boys were more likely than girls to be viewed as deserving of punishment for aberrant gender practices. However, the perception of gender by both boys and girls is unrelated to their experiences of victimization and bullying. This has significant ramifications for comprehending how gender norms evolve and how they affect teenage behavior and social interactions.