This article was written by freelance health writer Emma Mills, guest blogger.
Bullying victimization is intentional aggression that is repeated and characterizes an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim. It has long been linked with mental and physical health problems among both children and adults across the developed world.
Bullying can include direct behaviors such as teasing and name- calling (verbal bullying) or physical threats and harm (physical bullying). People often forget to consider the detrimental effects of indirect behavior (relational bullying) such as spreading rumors and social exclusion which can have a circular effect, magnifying the difference in power between the bully and victim, increasing the likelihood that the bullying behavior will repeat itself. This means the situation prevails and worsens with less likelihood of the behavior being resolved.
Adolescence is an important milestone and transitional period where an individual is at an increased vulnerability for developing depressive and anxiety disorders. One fifth of adolescents have already experienced their first onset of major depressive disorder and one third have reported an anxiety disorder by the age of 18 (Avenevoli & Merikangas, 2001). Add in the fact that stressors such as loss and humiliation contribute risk to depressive symptoms, and it is easy to see why bullying at school is so detrimental to an individual’s mental health at that moment in time and in impacting the rest of their lives. This is because emotional maltreatment in childhood and adolescence is a predictor of depressive symptoms as an adult. Unfortunately, childhood emotional maltreatment is found to overlap with physical and sexual abuse too (Wright, Crawford, & Del Castillo, 2009).
The distress of bullying can lead to anxiety and depression and the absence of interest and enjoyment in life. There is an increase in psychosomatic symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, and a racing heart as well as suicidal behaviors and poor academic and work performance. Such stressful adaptations to a toxic bullying environment make an individual more susceptible to common illnesses such as a cold due to a compromised immune system but also to fatal cardiovascular problems in the long- term.
Because individuals who are repeatedly victimized have more severe depressive symptoms, they consequently perceive their situation as more threatening and feel less able to control events around them. As anxiety and fear of bullying increases, an individual can become more withdrawn, cutting themselves off from activities they previously enjoyed and furthering the progression of their depression. This leads to a downwards spiral which can affect their cognitive patterns and their perceptions for the rest of their lives.
Interested in learning more about school-based programs that reduce bullying? Read our systematic review here.