Negative impact of bullying was found to be persistent and pervasive, with health, social and economic consequences lasting well into adulthood
The negative social, physical and mental health effects of childhood bullying are still evident nearly 40 years later, according to new research by King’s College London. The study is the first to look at the effects of bullying beyond early adulthood, and is published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
The findings come from the British National Child Development Study which includes data on all children born in England, Scotland and Wales during one week in 1958. The study published today includes 7,771 children whose parents provided information on their child’s exposure to bullying when they were aged 7 and 11. The children were then followed up until the age of 50.
Dr Ryu Takizawa, lead author of the paper from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, says: “Our study shows that the effects of bullying are still visible nearly four decades later. The impact of bullying is persistent and pervasive, with health, social and economic consequences lasting well into adulthood.”
Just over a quarter of children in the study (28%) had been bullied occasionally, and 15% bullied frequently – similar to rates in the UK today.
Individuals who were bullied in childhood were more likely to have poorer physical and psychological health and cognitive functioning at age 50. Individuals who were frequently bullied in childhood were at an increased risk of depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal thoughts.
Individuals who were bullied in childhood were also more likely to have lower educational levels, with men who were bullied more likely to be unemployed and earn less. Social relationships and well-being were also affected. Individuals who had been bullied were less likely to be in a relationship, to have good social support, and were more likely to report lower quality of life and life satisfaction.
Professor Louise Arseneault, senior author, also from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s adds: “We need to move away from any perception that bullying is just an inevitable part of growing-up. Teachers, parents and policy-makers should be aware that what happens in the school playground can have long-term repercussions for children. Programmes 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.”
Bullying is characterized by repeated hurtful actions by children of a similar age, where the victim finds it difficult to defend themselves. The harmful effect of bullying remained even when other factors including childhood IQ, emotional and behavioural problems, parents’ socioeconomic status and low parental involvement, were taken into account.
Professor Arseneault adds: “40 years is a long time, so there will no doubt be additional experiences during the course of these young people’s lives which may either protect them against the effects of bullying, or make things worse. Our next step is to investigate what these are.”
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I fully agree with the findings of the research because I have seen how people who were bullied in their childhood turn to be either abusive towards others or turn to be suicidal even decades after the bullying incident has passed. Being bullied is a traumatic experience that can often leave an individual physically,emotionally,mentally and socially unfit in a way that ones abilities to relate to others is crushed, the victims often have low self-esteem and they are unable to express the emotions freely. Mentally,some individuals turn to be very fearful, others feel unworthy about everything this can lead to feeling paranoid,depression or suicide, years later others turn to be bullies or abusers because of their past experiences and anger that they still feel. These negative impacts can remain within them until adulthood if the individual did not have anyone to consult or did not undergo counseling at anytime of their life and were unable to overcome their fears and heal from their past experience.
I fully agree with the above article because being bullied at a young age does indeed have a long term effect on a person. Bullying should not be taken lightly, it is not just a phase that a child will soon get through. There are long term repercussions that will surface as the child grows older even into adulthood.
Like any other form of abuse, being bullied is not easily cleared if ever from the victim’s memory. I liken bullying to abuse because they are one in the same thing, it is just that bullying is taken lighter and shouldn’t be. People who are bullied are put in a box and they start believing that they are what their bully says they are. These victims become depressed and have a negative outlook on life which they carry throughout their lives.
Being bullied is something one does not easily get over. Research has proven that even after four decades one can still see the impact bullying has on the person that was bullied at a young age.
Very relevant topic. Bullying happens everyday around us, and many believe it is mechanism that propels one to learning to stand up and defend themselves, turning boys into men, whilst the exact opposite is a actually the reality.
It is true according to the article, that childhood bullying goes as far as to determining what kind of a grown individual you become. At the age 7-11 it is a crucial time of a child’s brain development and acceptance of society as they begin to live somehow physically independent from their parents.
So bullying especially at this tender age, messes up the development of a child as a whole, firstly making them grow up living in intense fear of being ridiculed and humiliated affects their self confidence and trust in their abilities. I believe in correspondence with the article that these bullying effects will forever be engraved in an individual’s personality and character.
Thank You.
Being one of those children in the playground who got bullied, I can believe there are negative long term affects associated with bullying. Having someone see the faults in a person and always putting them down for it, does hurt and makes them think there is something wrong with themselves. The memory of that painful part of their childhood will never leave a person as memories just don’t fade away. However, it is amazing and sad to see how badly those long term affects can still affect a person in adulthood. It can harm so many aspects of a persons life such as their relationships. A persons self-esteem can be destroyed just by saying a few hurtful words, that’s all it takes. Since the child’s self-esteem is not fully developed they enter adulthood with a lack of self-worth and acceptance of who they are as all they see are their faults. The hurtful words from the bully can eventually turn into physical abuse in adulthood as it is also a way of having control and power over a person. This needs to stop as the concept of bullying affects the bully and the victims lives.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but words may never hurt me.
As a victim of bullying I know the consequences of bullying and the effects it can have on a person’s life. It leads to insecurity, depression, anxiety and bad grades. Most victims don’t speak up and therefore cannot get help. These are the people who struggle to make amends and ultimately live life in fear. However if the victim does get help they can clean up the broken pieces and live life the way it’s meant to be lived. Unfortunately the memories will never go away but what you take with you is what defines you and your life. I believe that the bully himself is a victim of a worse fate. Research has shown that most bullies come from a broken home, are treated badly by their own family or are not given the attention or affection that a child requires.
Ultimately bullying is an unnecessary consequence and it can be prevented.
This is a very informative article providing details on the negative effects bullying at a young age could affect a person’s adolescence and even adulthood. I agree with Sarah 14085080 that abuse could have the same resulting effects therefore bullying can also be considered as a form of abuse, whether it is physically or verbally, it causes damage. Every person is made with a desire to be loved and accepted. This is the fundamentals for raising a strong and emotionally healthy child. When children are bullied and the help cries are often ignored by parents and peers, children begin to learn at a very young age to defend themselves and as Sarah 14085080 has stated results in isolation, aggression and insecurities. During the times of adolescence and adulthood. As said by Alexa Wichmann (u14055521) a trustworthy companion could be of great advantage to a child being bullied, helping to emotionally support a child at a young age and possibly eliminate the long term negative effects because of childhood abuse.
I agree with the mentioned comments! This is really shocking to see how many people have to deal with being bullied! There are many people, even from our own firends or family members, that we aren’t aware of being a punching bag for one ore even multiple bullies. The tragic part is that the bully, might even sometimes be a parent of the victim! In the society of today, some parents may be jealous of their prestigious children, or maybe their children might not be following the road they imagined or planned for them, causing the child to be forced to do something without having a say in it. These parents are unaware of the fact that this actions, somehow leads to the bullying of their own child(emotionally or physically). I also agree with Alexa Wichmann (20/04/2014) that teachers also unintentionally play a role in the bullying of students.
I would be interested to know the effects that different types of bullying have on individuals later on in life. For example: emotional and psychological bullying versus physical bullying, or whether all types of bullying have a similar effect on people. Unfortunately teachers and adults will never truly be able to root out this terrible thing, and children will continue to be bullied for many generations. I would also like to know what happens to the bullies in their later life. Do they mature and move on, or do they continue to get through life by bullying those around them? In the end a bully tends to bully others because of their own lack of self-esteem.
Being bullied from a young age often results in low self-esteem which contributes to personality disorders and mental disorders.These disorders often lead to bullied victims isolating themselves and partaking in self-destructive behavioral patterns such as substance abuse and aggression. These patterns often hinder their progress in life because they are made to believe that they are inferior and that nothing good can come out from them. I personally think that being a victim of bullying from a young age limits one`s success in life.
It is quite heartbreaking to know that most bullying takes place under adult supervision without them noticing.Unfortunately in most cases,there is usually nothing they can do to help as most bullied victims often suppress their emotions.Victims are usually too scared that they will be tormented more by their bullies if they open up.This then gives bullies room to continue bullying other people.I personally think that the ball lies in the victims` hand to bring about a change to the series of bullying.If one does not open up,then no one will know what they are going through hence the bullying will never stop.
Bullying is a serious matter although many people might not view it in that way. The manner in which people handle situations whereby they are victims of bullying might also be attributable to their personalities/character. It is actually sad to think that even into adolescence and adulthood, people actually allow bullying to still negatively affect they’re lives.
If the people who were victims of childhood bullying(or any bullying for that matter) actually sought out professional help, regardless of whether at an early stage or later stage of their lives, they could actually work to prevent the continuation of their behavioural problems, depression, anxiety etc.
Regardless of whether a person has a “weak” or “strong” personality, they are still at risk of being exposed to bullying. By creating support programs and programs to aid in the prevention and/or discontinuation of bullying, the long-term repercussions might be prevented; however, this needs to begin with the awareness of this issue-bullying.
The above mentioned reinforces that being bullied can be very destructive to an individuals life. However, it is also important to note that being bullied is interpreted in different ways by different individuals due to the fact that people have different personalities. For example, an individual with a “thick skin” might perceive bullying in a different light. Instead of resulting in horrid effects that are evident even 40 years after the incident, it could motivate an individual to achieve something greater or be better than the bully in terms of success in life. So i would say that it’s in a sense up to the individual as to how exactly he/she perceives the experience of bullying.
From the above I think we have all established that there is a definite need to combat bullying in schools and other places.Another approach could be to incorporate “self esteem” workshops into the schools curriculum.This would serve the purpose of building the participants self confidence so they would be less likely to bully others as they would be comfortable in their own skin.However in the cases where bullying still occurs ,these people would be better equipped to handle the bullies and eventually stop it.Hopefully this approach will yield successful results and can be implemented to stp bullying and these adverse effects of bullying.
The results of this study are shocking and very informative.It is common knowledge that bullying has adverse effects on an individual but the fact that these effects last up to forty years is astonishing and shows that there is a definite need to combat bullying in schools and other places.A different approach to solving the problem of bullying in schools could be to have “Self esteem” work shops in which the participants are taught how to build their self esteem and self confidence.In doing this the numbers of cases of bullying could be reduced as the individuals would be comfortable in the own skin and less likely to bully other individuals.However in the cases where bullying still takes place,children will have the confidence to stand up for themselves and try and stop the bullying.
Bullying is unfortunately a very big problem all over the world. It happens in schools and at home and affects different people in different ways and to different degrees. According to a South African psychologist, Vonnie Mostert, the main reason why bullying has such a long-lasting effect on people, is because the victims form the idea that they have no or very little worth and that idea is difficult to change. People’s self worth is formed over time by the extent to which they could have experienced caring and secure relationships in their lives. When people are exposed to bullying and destructive relationships over time they develop a self concept of not being accepted by others or not being good enough or worthy of significant relationships. For the same reason their health and jobs are also negatively affected. Mr. Mostert also says that the anger victims experience often turns them into bullies themselves, causing them to either bully others or to continue bullying themselves.
The before mentioned comments are all very true. The psychological and emotional damage that happens to children who have been bullied are far more extensive than was thought in the past. Being bullied is not a normal part of growing up. Bullies need to be stopped and the only way they can be, is if the victims speak out… Every school should have an anti-bullying policy that is taken seriously, which not only has consequences for students, but for teachers as well. There are many ways bullying can be stopped, we just need everyone’s cooperation, parents and peers especially. Every person has the right to be in a safe environment, no person has the right to take that right away!
I think a lot of people, not only the bullies, don’t always realize what a hugely negative effect bullying has on people. Bullies should be identified and helped at a young age. I think most of the time the bullies have problems of their own but they take their frustrations out on other people.It would be very useful if schools could have counselling for the bullies as well not only the people being bullied should go for counselling. People that are bullied at school must also be brave enough to go and find help, or else, as the article shows it can still have a negative impact on their lives even forty years later.
I do agree with the psychological effects that bullying has on many children, however, in order for bullying to effect a child’s personalty it is based on the degree of the bullying .That’s why this case is more common in males as their are more cases of extreme bullying and punishment that happens to young boys.
It is really sad that bullying can have such bad effects on someone, even into adulthood. The impact made is something that lasts so much longer than the bully’s memory of whom they bullied. I believe that bullying is not only done by children, but by teachers and adults who are meant to be responsible and have the child’s best interests at heart. Every child should have a trustworthy and reliable adult that they feel comfortable talking to about bullying. These adults should then be able to stop the bullying before it has a negative and long-lasting impact on the childs future.
It is shocking how being bullied during childhood can affect an adult’s life. I think this is the same for any exposure to any form of abuse besides physical and emotional. The experience of being bullied remains a mark that takes time to heal and sometimes these wounds do not heal at all but worsen resulting in isolation, aggression and insecurities. This affects all expects of adulthood such as finding a job or maybe a life partner.