SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A new study led by the University of Delaware found that kids who are bullied in fifth grade often suffer from depression and begin using alcohol and other substances a few years after the incidents.
"Students who experienced more frequent peer victimization in fifth grade were more likely to have greater symptoms of depression in seventh grade, and a greater likelihood of using alcohol, marijuana or tobacco in tenth grade," said the study's leader, Valerie Earnshaw, a social psychologist and assistant professor in UD's College of Education and Human Development.
The study involved researchers from universities and hospitals in six states, who analyzed data collected between 2004 and 2011 from 4,297 students on their journey from fifth through tenth grade. The findings were published online in the medical journal Pediatrics.
The students were from Birmingham, Alabama; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles County, California. Forty-four percent were Latino, 29 percent were African American and 22 percent were white.
Do you see this being true in your own life, or in the lives of others you know?
Peer Victimization, Depressive Symptoms, and Substance Use: A Longitudinal Analysis (open, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2016-3426) (DX)
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Wednesday May 10 2017, @05:44AM (5 children)
...if you've been bullied. Seems that lots of us nerdy types were, i.e., specifically the ones who wind up in computer fields.
TFA: Bullying causes psychological harm. Psychologically disturbed people sometimes turn to drugs. Water is wet. News at 11:00. So this paper is the MPI (minimum publishable increment) of research that connects the two dots.
I have a more interesting question, and it's not one I've seen studied: which way does the cause-and-effect go? Are we singled out for bullying, because we're the ones with lousy social skills? Or is it the other way around: whoever gets bullied fails to develop socially, and turns to computers instead of people?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @05:59AM
It's generally not the case that the bullied have poor social skills, this is a sociological phenomena not the individual choice of the bully, usually those that get bullied have higher empathy and intelligence, but do not have social standing(primarily provided by parents and school authority figures in children and employers and other state entities in adults) it's about your gang always and kids that can be harmed are always, it is foundational to this society
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Wednesday May 10 2017, @07:46AM (2 children)
I wasn't really a victim of bullying, although some tried. I simply won all three fights I was forced into during primary school, by using my brains as a weapon (well, not literally of course). It wasn't really that bad for me, because the general idea at the time was not to hit the kid with the glasses.
I have another interesting question. Are the bullies mostly first born sons and the victims not? Because a mother develops resistance against male hormones during the first pregnancy, the first born son will generally be more aggressive than the others. I can see that phenomenon very clearly in my own two boys. The oldest always liked to tease the younger while growing up. The same with my oldest brother, always trying to be funny at the expense of the others, before he was old enough to understand what he did and how it affected the rest.
I have no idea if something similar happens with girls. But I wonder, because obviously they also have bullying among them. Mostly through social media nowadays I guess.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @11:18AM
Victim and firstborn. I have no data to offer, just this anecdote.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 10 2017, @11:47AM
on the other hand first-borns get the full attention of their parents, and they are statistically smarter because of that: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34700739 [bbc.com]
I would guess that more attention from the parents would lead to less chances of being a bully.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday May 10 2017, @10:27AM
I suspect people that get singled out, are that because predators sense that they can get away with the bad behavior. Opportunity makes the predator. Just like kids like to poke with sticks at an animal.. because they can.
Kids: From what I have read. Ask adults for help, if that won't work. Then use as much force as you need to. Some school administrations punish the victim when they fight back. So keep it hidden from view if possible. And of course deny any wrongdoing. Once you get out of high school with sufficient grades to get a job or university, you can tell in essence everybody to f-ck off. The key is having your own income.
(hmm, seems like really bad grammar day today)