Shine OnBullying a “significant international public health issue,” says study
The effects of bullying can last a lifetime, reveals new research, suggesting that victims are twice as likely to experience symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts during adulthood than their non-bullied peers.
“Given that school bullying is a widespread phenomenon in many countries around the world, the present results suggest that bullying be considered a significant international public health issue,” states the report, published in Pediatrics journal.
The report, written by researchers at the University of Padua in Italy, compiled data from bullying victims between the age of seven and 16 years old, including research from the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and the U.S.
“Our research demonstrated the negative consequences of bullying across a wide spectrum of age groups and countries,” says study co-author Gianluca Gini.
Gini adds that parents should be monitoring their children for symptoms of bullying, which include bedwetting, lack of appetite and difficulty sleeping, as chronic bullying can double a child's risk of experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety, such as low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts, throughout their lifetime.
This shocking evidence shines new light on the oft-debated topic of how parents and schools should handle bullying, perhaps denouncing the "they need to toughen up" argument.
While supporters of this tough-love approach point to their own upbringings, which often included bullying, perhaps they fail to take into account the new age of cyber-bullying, where the torment follows the student home from school and enters his or her private home through social media and email so that there’s never any reprieve.
Whether anything actually changes remains to be seen, but studies like this help drive home the serious nature of bullying, and give parents more reason to intervene when they sense their child is a victim.
Should bully victims be given a dose of tough love? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
