Psychoeducational Activities and Early Detection of Bullying for Santriwati: Prevention Efforts in the Islamic Boarding School Environment

Abstract

This activity aimed to provide psychoeducation to female Islamic boarding school students (santriwati) to enhance their understanding of bullying within the pesantren environment, whether as perpetrators, victims, or witnesses. The activity also aimed to build a safe and supportive pesantren environment to foster the psychosocial development of santriwati. The one-day psychoeducation session covered materials including the definition of bullying, its types (verbal, physical, social, and cyberbullying), and the negative impacts on victims. Participants were asked to identify their initial level of knowledge and detect potential bullying cases through self-reports and preliminary interviews. The information gathered served as a basis for planning follow-up interventions, such as social skills training and the formation of support groups within the pesantren. The results of the activity showed an increase in the santriwati’s understanding of bullying and their ability to relate the materials to real-life experiences within the pesantren. The students realized that victims of bullying could suffer psychological impacts if not properly addressed, highlighting the need to resolve bullying issues through sharing with female teachers (ustazah) and establishing connections with government agencies and psychology programs offering counseling services. Moving forward, santriwati became more sensitive in recognizing and understanding bullying and actively participated in creating a healthy social environment. Perpetrators are expected to become aware of the negative impacts of their behavior, while witnesses are encouraged to report incidents without fear. This psychoeducation activity successfully increased the santriwati’s awareness of bullying and its impacts, fostering a consciousness to create a safe and supportive pesantren environment. Santriwati became more attentive, perpetrators are expected to acknowledge their wrongdoing, and witnesses are encouraged to report incidents. Psychoeducation proved effective as an initial step in preventing bullying in pesantren.