Childhood bullying

Study finds childhood bullying linked to distrust and mental health problems in adolescence

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A new study, co-led by UCLA Health and the University of Glasgow, found that young teenagers who develop a strong distrust of other people as a result of childhood bullying are substantially more likely to have significant mental health problems as they enter adulthood compared to those who do not develop interpersonal trust issues.

The study, published in the journal Nature Mental Health on Feb. 13, is believed to be the first to examine the link between peer bullying, interpersonal distrust, and the subsequent development of mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, hyperactivity and anger.

Researchers used data from 10,000 children in the United Kingdom who were studied for nearly two decades as part of the Millennium Cohort Study. From these data, the researchers found that adolescents who were bullied at age 11 and in turn developed greater interpersonal distrust by age 14 were around 3.5 times more likely to experience clinically significant mental health problems at age 17 compared to those who developed less distrust.

The findings could help schools and other institutions to develop new evidence-based interventions to counter the negative mental health impacts of bullying, according to the study’s senior author Dr. George Slavich, who directs UCLA Health’s Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research.

“There are few public health topics more important than youth mental health right now,” Slavich said. “In order to help teens reach their fullest potential, we need to invest in research that identifies risk factors for poor health and that translates this knowledge into prevention programs that can improve lifelong health and resilience.”

The findings come amid growing public health concerns about the mental health of youth. Recent studies by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 44.2% of sampled high school students in the U.S. reported being depressed for at least two weeks in 2021, with one in 10 students who were surveyed having reported attempted suicide that year.

In this new study, the researchers viewed these alarming trends from the perspective of Social Safety Theory, which hypothesizes that social threats, such as bullying, impact mental health partly by instilling the belief that other people cannot be trusted, or that the world is an unfriendly, dangerous or unpredictable place.

Prior research has identified associations between bullying and mental and behavioral health issues among youth, including its impact on substance abuse, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. However, following youth over time, this study is the first to confirm the suspected pathway of how bullying leads to distrust, and in turn, mental health problems in late adolescence.

Slavich said when people develop clinically significant mental health problems during the teenage years, it can increase their risk of experiencing both mental and physical health issues across the entire lifespan if left unaddressed.

In addition to interpersonal distrust, the authors examined whether diet, sleep or physical activity also linked peer bullying with subsequent mental health problems. However, only interpersonal distrust was found to relate bullying to greater risk of experiencing mental health problems at age 17.

“What these data suggest is that we really need school-based programs that help foster a sense of interpersonal trust at the level of the classroom and school,” Slavich said. “One way to do that would be to develop evidence-based programs that are especially focused on the transition to high school and college, and that frame school as an opportunity to develop close, long-lasting relationships.”

Childhood bullying can lead to suicide even 40 years later .

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Bullying can damage mental and physical health in later life
Victims are more likely to have depression and anxiety at the age of 50
They also tend to have lower levels of education and to earn less
They are less likely to be in a relationship or to be satisfied with life

 

Childhood bullying can have such a devastating impact that victims consider suicide 40 years later, researchers have found.
Being bullied can damage both mental and physical health in later life and even affect living and social standards.
Researchers from Kings College, London, looked at 7,771 children, around a quarter of whom (28 per cent) were bullied between seven and 11, and followed them up until the age of 50.

People who have been bullied are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety in middle-age
Childhood bullying can lead to problems with mental and physical health later in life
They discovered that most of the victims were still suffering trauma as adults as a result of being picked on.
Dr Ryu Takizawa, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London said: ‘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 per cent) had been bullied occasionally and 15 per cent had been bullied severely, which researchers believe matches rates in the UK today.
It was discovered that victims of bullying were likely to be less physically healthy and have stronger possibilities of depression, anxiety disorders and suicidal thoughts at the age of 50.
And the study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, also revealed that bullies’ victims have lower educational levels, with men who were bullied more likely to be unemployed and earn less.
Relationships were also damaged with victims of bullying found to be less likely to be in a relationship, and more likely to have lower levels of satisfaction with their lives.

 

Childhood bullying can lead to problems with mental and physical health later in life
People who have been bullied are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety in middle-age
Senior author Professor Louise Arseneault, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s added: ‘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.
‘Forty 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.’