Staff Writer
The
Lancet Psychiatry has launched the first study documenting the effects of
maltreatment by adults and peer bullying in childhood and mental health
consequences, and the results have been rather surprising. Their results
revealed being bullied in childhood has long-term effects on the mental health
of young adults. The study, led by Professor Dieter Wolke from the University
of Warwick, compared young adults in the United States and the United Kingdom
who were maltreated and bullied in childhood. The researchers defined
maltreatment as, “any physical or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse,
neglect, or negligent treatment resulting in actual or potential harm to the
child’s health, survival, development or dignity.”
Children
bullied by peers were more likely to develop mental health issues than those
mistreated by an adult. They were more likely to suffer from depression,
anxiety and consider self-harm and suicide later in life. Wolke reasons it’s
because children spend more time with their peers and bullying has a repetitive
nature, “Bullying is comparable to a scenario for a caged animal. The classroom
is a place where you're with people you didn't choose to be with, and you can't
escape them if something negative happens.”
Children
may internalize the effects of bullying, this leads to stress-related issues.
Or, they may externalize the effects and become a bully themselves. “Being
bullied by peers in childhood had generally worse long-term adverse effects on
young adults’ mental health,” noted researchers, “These effects were not
explained by poly-victimization. The findings have important implications for
public health planning and service development for dealing with peer bullying.”
Data
compared two different studies of 4,026 UK participants and 1,273 U.S.
participants. The UK study looked at the maltreatment from the ages of 8 weeks
to 8.6 years. Maltreatment information was gathered from mothers, who were
asked whether their child had been physically or mentally abused. The children
then reported of bullying when they were eight, 10 and 13. The U.S. data
focused on bullying and maltreatment between the ages of nine and 16 and the
mental health effects between the ages of 19 to 25. The maltreatment and bullying
were assessed through parent and child interviews at regular intervals. Once
18, the children were tested for anxiety and depression and asked about
self-harm and suicidal thoughts. As young adults, 19% of the UK participants
and 18% of the U.S. participants had mental health issues such as depression,
anxiety and suicidal urges. Children who were bullied were five times more
likely to experience anxiety and twice as likely to talk of suffering
depression and self-harm as those were abused at home.
Supporters
of the study are suggesting it’s time to address bullying. “Governmental
efforts have focused almost exclusively on public policy to address family
maltreatment; much less attention and resources has been paid to bullying,”
says Jennifer Wild of the University of Oxford, “Since bullying is frequent and
found in all social groups, and current evidence supports that bullied children
have similar or worse long-term mental health outcomes than maltreatment, this
imbalance requires attention.”
The
study suggests bullying is a global problem, and the study’s authors believe
bullying is a public health issue that requires action. The director of the Not
in Our Schools program, Becki Cohn-Vargas, encourages others to step in and
take action, “What's really important is getting the public and the medical
world to recognize bullying for what it is -- a serious issue.”
Johanna
Eager, director for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Welcoming Schools
program, believes bullying is the result of division and misunderstanding which
leads to the formation of negative associations. Wolke supports this claim,
saying the bullying situation is critical in countries with stringent class
divisions between low and high income families. “Because of the core experience
of social humiliation at home or school bullying can be a powerful experience,”
says Professor William Copeland of Duke University School of Medicine, “Bullied kids are singled out and their
[grief] is often not addressed very quickly which can lead to an accumulated
toll of that experience that stays with them. People don’t necessarily get a
lot of support when bullied or experience significant adults, like teachers or
parents, downplay it. This creates a sense within the individual that something
is wrong with them and that they should get over it with little help.”
Programs
like Welcoming Schools and Not in Our Schools aim to aid teachers, parents and
children in stopping the bullying taking place in schools and communities. “It's
a community problem,” says Wolke, “Physicians don't ask about bullying. Health
professionals, educators and legislation could provide parents with medical and
social resources. We all need to be trained to ask about peer relationships.”
Advocates
suggest defining bullying will help schools to get rid of it, and they define
it as behavior that causes harm. The director of Not in Our Schools, Becki
Cohn-Vargas, also encourages others step in and take action, “What's really
important is getting the public and the medical world to recognize bullying for
what it is -- a serious issue.”
Specialists
recommend role models watch their behavior, because children tend to mimic
behavior, even negative or aggressive behavior. “We tend to admire power,” says
Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt, a University of Ottawa professor and Canada Research
Chair for Children’s Mental Health and Violence Prevention, “But we also tend
to abuse power, because we don't talk about achieving power in an appropriate
way. Bullying is part of the human condition, but that doesn't make it right.
We should be taking care of each other.”
Previously,
Wolke saw mistreatment as the main point of concern with regard to children’s
mental health as they matured, but this study changes it all, “Until now,
governments have focused their efforts and resources on family maltreatment
rather than bullying. Since one in three children worldwide report being
bullied, and it is clear that bullied children have similar or worse mental
health problems later in life to those who are maltreated, more needs to be
done to address this imbalance. Moreover, it is vital that schools, health
services and other agencies work together to tackle bullying.”
