Childhood
bullying inflicts the same long term psychological trauma on girls as severe
physical or sexual abuse, and its detrimental effects may linger for years. The
study suggests that the negative effects of bullying may negatively affect
victims’ mental health well into young adulthood. Participants in the study
were surveyed about their exposure to variety of traumatic experiences –
including bullying, cyber bullying and crimes such as robbery, sexual assault,
and domestic and community violence – from birth through age 17. Students also
reported on their psychological functioning and symptoms of depression, anxiety
and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The students
who experienced bullying as children reported significantly greater levels of
mental health problems than their peers. Experiencing bullying was the
strongest predictor of PTSD symptoms among the college students who participated
in the survey, surpassing other types of trauma such as exposure to community
violence or being abused or neglected by adults. Females in particular
struggled with the emotional damage inflicted by bullying, reporting greater
levels of depression, anxiety and PTSD than their male peers.
Bullying victimization significantly
predicted students’ current levels of depression and anxiety – over and above
other childhood victimization experiences. This research suggests that college
students’ psychological distress may be connected in part to their perceptions
of past childhood bullying victimization experiences. Students who experienced
one interpersonal trauma were at the greatest risk of being victimized in other
ways and of developing PTSD. They suggested that practitioners in college
mental health centers need to be aware that students who request psychological
help are likely to have experienced multiple forms of trauma.
