Abstract:

Entering Higher Education (HE) constitutes an important milestone in the life path of many students, in terms of choices made and future aspirations. Situations of bullying and hazing events tend to occur within the scope of routine activities, a linked to the tradition of welcoming newcomers to educational institutions and academic life. Understanding how these situations of bullying in activities linked to academic practice can have significant impacts (or not) on their integration into higher education, their satisfaction with life in an academic environment and their academic performance is extremely important for institutions to develop strategies to promote a properly integrated and personalized welcome for students in Higher Education.

In a sequence of previous work in the context of the integration of students in Higher Education, a study was conducted based on a sample composed of 574 students who joined Higher Education in Portugal, in the academic year 2023-2024. The purpose is to test, initially, which are the most preponderant factors in terms of bullying situations in hazing of Higher Education, whether these situations experienced in practice have effects: on satisfaction with academic life, on their academic integration and on their academic performance. The aim is to determine whether satisfaction with academic life plays a mediating role in the relationship between usual situations and academic integration.

The survey included some socio-demographic variables (e.g., “Gender”, “Age group”), the Assessment Scale of Bullying Situations in Hazing of Higher Education (ASBSHHE), the Abbreviated Scale of Satisfaction with de Student Life (ASSSL), the construct of academic integration and academic performance.

The data was analysed using statistical methods namely Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with the purpose of answering the research questions. After verifying all associated requirements (internal consistency reliability, convergent and discriminant validity) to the reflective model, the structural model was evaluated to test the hypotheses that revealed significant results. The most preponderant factors of ASBSHHE were positive relationship with hazing practice and the negative relationship with practice.

The ASBSHHE has significant effects on academic integration and student life satisfaction. It was also found that satisfaction with de student life mediates the relationship between bullying situations in hazing and academic integration.

The results may help Higher Institution Education to develop corrective actions to prevent abusive acts and to outline strategies for better integration of students upon entry into Higher Education.

Keywords:

Integration of university students, bullying and hazing practices, satisfaction with academic life, PLS-SEM.