A new study on the negative effects of bullying shows that children carry the mental, physical and social side effects well into adulthood. The new findings show that bullying during childhood can lead to depression, anxiety and even suicide in adults.
"Our study shows that the effects of bullying are still visible nearly four decades later," said King's College London researcher Ryu Takizawa. "The impact of bullying is persistent and pervasive, with health, social and economic consequences lasting well into adulthood." Takizawa is also the lead author of the study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Takizawa and his colleagues found that the negative effects of bullying could linger in affected individuals for as long as 40 years. To conduct the study, the researchers analyzed data gathered by the British National Child Development Study on children born in the UK. The data was gathered during a week long process back in 1958. The team studied that data from 7,771 children that were between the ages of 7 and 11 back in the late 50s. Follow up data collection was also conducted until the children reached the age of 50.
According the team's data, 28 percent of the children included in the study experienced occasional bullying. However, 15 percent of the children said that they experienced bullying on a regular basis. While the data may be considered old by scientific standards, the numbers reflected in the study are still pretty close to current statistics on bullying.
"We need to move away from any perception that bullying is just an inevitable part of growing-up," said King's College London Institute of Psychiatry professor Louise Arseneault. "Teachers, parents and policy-makers should be aware that what happens in the school playground can have long-term repercussions for children. Programs to stop bullying are extremely important, but we also need to focus our efforts on early intervention to prevent potential problems persisting into adolescence and adulthood." Arseneault is also a senior author in the study.
Bullying is known to have a wide range of negative effects on bullied children. This includes both long term behavioral, emotional and sometimes even physical problems. Moreover, the worst effects of bullying can often lead to loneliness, low self-esteem, depression and a marked decrease in the body's capacity to ward off illnesses.
Bullying is also known to have a direct causal relationship with some suicides. Moreover, the mental damage caused by bullying during childhood has also been speculated to trigger violence later in life. A number of serial killers and psychopaths have been known to be bullied early in life. Moreover, both Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris who caused the brutal Columbine High School Massacre back in 1999 also experienced bullying when they were younger.
One of the more recent shootings was carried out by a high school student named Sergey Gordeev. The student walked into his kill in Moscow with two rifles killing a teacher and a police officer during the course of the incident. The study's results is even more relevant today considering the recent string of high school shootings in the US and in other parts of the world.
"Children who are bullied-and especially those who are frequently bullied-continue to be at risk for a wide range of poor social, health, and economic outcomes nearly four decades after exposure. Interventions need to reduce bullying exposure in childhood and minimize long-term effects on victims' well-being; such interventions should cast light on causal processes," the study concludes.
