BEING BULLIED IN CHILDHOOD AND SELF-HARM BEHAVIOR AS AN ADOLESCENT

Earlier, I wrote about the impact of being bullied and being a bully, ten years later.  One study showed that children who were bullied were at significantly inreased risk for anxiety and depressive disorders while males were also more likely to be suicidal and girls to have agoraphobia [fear of public spaces and crowds]. The bullies had an increased risk of antisocial personality disorder.  I felt that the bullied children were also at increased risk for post traumatic stress disorder.

Another study by S.T. Lereya, Ph.D., et al, in the June, 2013 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reported on the impact of being bullied in childhood on adolescent self-harm [cutting and suicidal] behavior. They controlled for a number of other variables that also can lead to self-harm behavior and found that about 20% of the total self-harm behavior was caused by the bullying.  This is a very large effect from the bullying. 

It is a critical problem, especially as children [and adolescents] very often suffer in silence and do not tell their parents or teachers.  They also tend to  hold their feelings in so it is not easy to detect depressive symptoms.  Frequently they will complain of a number of different nonspecific symptoms that include headaches, stomach aches, backaches, dizziness, sleep problems and they may resist going to school and be withdrawn. When they do tell an adult they often feel that it doesn't help as they expect the adult to get the bullies to stop.  It would seem that a focus on helping the victims of bullies to cope with this stress so that they are no longer feeling overwelmed and can ignore the bullies more successfully.  Another focus, of course, would be to stop bullying from occuring in the first place.  Zero tolerance for violence or the threat of violence, so why not zeo tolerance for bullying?  I wonder if educating children and adolescents on the impact of bullying and the different forms it takes and then how to resist being part of bullying, wouldn't help reduce bullying significantly.  I am interested in your thoughts about how to prevent or at least reduce significantly, the bullying of our children and adolescents. 

Of course, it happens with adults, too.

Comments

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