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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 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.