Bullying and social anxiety experiences in univers
2.2 Variables and measures The survey questionnaire utilized a variety of scales to measure physical, mental and social health, health behavior, study ability, as well as experiences of bullying. Due to the extensive breadth of the survey, the results are reported in several individual studies by different researchers. The present analysis focuses on students report of social anxiety and experiences of bullying at school and in higher education. At the beginning of the questionnaire, participants were asked to provide demographic information. Anxiety was operationalized by means of three types of measures assessing (a) diagnosed anxiety syndrome that has caused symptoms during the past 12 months, (b) context-specific social anxiety that is experienced across various types of university learning situations, and (c) situation-specific social anxiety that is experienced in particular university learning situations. Experiences of peer bullying and victimization was operationalized by assessing the duration and frequency of exposure to bullying interactions at school and in university. Each variable is described in detail below.