Spirituality Studies 10-2 Fall 2024 69 Kristína Dědová, Anna Sleziaková, Veronika Mihaliková ality on mental health. They found that spirituality is often perceived as an important factor influencing mental health, providing emotional support and meaning in life. Spirituality may contribute to better stress management, increasing mental resilience and promoting positive self-perception. It is linked to trust, which has three components: competence, forbearance and integrity (Sedláček 2024, 86). The results of another study (Fatmilarini et al. 2023, 192) have shown that higher levels of spiritual well-being are associated with better quality of life. Participation in spiritual or religious activities contributes to improved overall well-being and reduces feelings of loneliness, thus contributing to better mental health. Loneliness is an intrinsic and unpleasant experience that arises when a person experiences a quantitative or qualitative loss in social life. This is different from physical loneliness or living in isolation. Indeed, a person can feel lonely even in the presence of other people, while another individual can live alone and not feel lonely (Chana, Marshall and Harley 2016). Some people can spend a considerable amount of time alone without feeling lonely at all, while others feel lonely even though they are almost constantly around other people (Winkler et al. 2023, 179). According to Lichner (2018, 25–37), high levels of loneliness can contribute to various forms of risk behaviors. Yang (2024, 79– 83) examined the relationship between bullying, loneliness and perceived social support in adolescents. They found that perceived social support plays a key role in mitigating the negative effects of loneliness and bullying. Bullying was positively correlated with experiencing loneliness, with students who had higher levels of loneliness being more likely to be bullied. Higher levels of experiencing loneliness were associated with a higher risk of bullying. Perceived social support was also higher for students who live with their parents. This was found to reduce levels of experiencing loneliness and bullying. As such, improving perceptions of social support can significantly reduce the experience of loneliness and bullying behavior. Loneliness can have a profoundly negative impact on an individual’s health and early intervention can play a very important role in preventing the problems associated with it (Chana, Marshall and Harley 2016, 298). The objective of our research is to examine the prevalence of bullying, bullying behaviors within different roles (aggressor, victim, defender, bystander) in the context of spirituality and loneliness in selected Slovak adolescents. The study also aims to examine the protective/risk significance of spirituality and loneliness in adolescents in the context of bullying. 2 Methods 2.1 Sample and Procedure Total number of 1164 respondents participated in our study. Age and nationality were set as inclusion criteria. The criterion for endorsement of bullying behavior was set as the occurrence of the behavior in the last two or three months (Solberg and Olweus 2003). Due to failure to meet the established criteria, 445 respondents were excluded. Our final sample included a total of 719 adolescents aged from 16 to 19 years (M = 17.8; SD = 1.11), of which 194 were male (M = 17.6; SD = 1.08) and 525 women (M = 17.9; SD = 1.11). The study population was composed entirely of high school students. The study had 1164 responders. Age and nationality were the inclusion requirements. According to Solberg and Olweus (2003), the presence of the specified behavior within the previous two to three months served as the requirement for validating bullying behavior. Because they didn’t fit the predetermined requirements, 445 responders were disqualified. A total of 719 adolescents between the ages of 16 and 19 were included in our final sample (M=17.8; SD=1.11); 194 of them were male (M=17.6; SD=1.08) and 525 of them were female (M=17.9; SD=1.11). Students from secondary schools made up the entire research group. The survey data was collected between January and March of 2022. The Ethics Committee of Trnava University no. 3/2022 gave its approval. The Declaration of Helsinki served as the foundation for the research. Participants in the study were free to stop at any time without facing any repercussions, and participation was entirely voluntary. Both in-person and online methods were used to collect data, which was voluntary and anonymous. We conducted correlation matrix, testing differences, simple mediations and regression analysis were carried out, with a confidence level of Cl=95%. The program Jamovi 1.6.28 was used for statistical operations. 2.2 Measures Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus 2006) The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was shortened in order to quantify bullying behavior. A brief definition of bullying was given in the questionnaire’s introduction. Six
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