Announcements

Bullying in schools and mental health impacts

A Research from Duke University

According to the results of the survey conducted by   Duke University, published online Feb. 20, 2013, in JAVA Psychiatry, the study is based on the common perception that bullying, has a major impact in the mental health of adults that were either offenders or victims.

The research team lead by Professor William E. Copeland, PhD, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Duke University, tapped a population-based sample of 1,420 children, ages between 9 and    16 until 26 years old. From the 1420 children  one in  four has experiences school bullying ( the analogy  boys to girl is almost the same), while one in ten children has stated that has  used verbal or physical abuse to another child. At this point we should notice that some children admitted changing roles from the offender to the victim.

After studying the family history of the participants of the survey, the researchers were lead to the conclusion that in comparison with the young adults that didn’t have a school bullying history, bully victims were more likely to develop mental disorders.

The results specifically showed that children who had experienced bullying in adulthood developed anxiety problems, panic, agoraphobia, depression, drug other substances use. 24% of children that had experienced bullying and 32% of children who were both bully/victim  experienced in adulthood anxiety disorder.

On the other hand the bullies show increased risk of developing antisocial personality disorder and other similar personality disorders.

“We were surprised at how profoundly bullying affects a person's long-term functioning” said Professor William E. Copeland. “"This psychological damage doesn't just go away because a person grew up and is no longer bullied. This is something that stays with them. If we can address this now, we can prevent a whole host of problems down the road."

According to the  associate director of research at Duke's Center for Child and Family Policy: "Bullying, which we tend to think of as a normal and not terribly important part of childhood, turns out to have the potential for very serious consequences for children, adolescents and adults.

The announcement of the research is available at the following link:
http://www.dukehealth.org/health_library/news/bullied-children-can-suffer-lasting-psychological-harm-as-adults