Tag: bullying and mental health

Cyber-bullying a risk factor in suicide: report. [independent.ie, by Katherine Donnelly, 21/05/14]

However, although cyber-bullying is a risk factor in suicide, where young people have attempted to take their own lives it is not the only reason. Attempted suicide occurs in conjunction with other risk factors, such as mental health difficulties and family problems, the report found.

The report provides an overview of existing research on the prevalence and impact of bullying linked to social media on the mental health and suicidal behaviour among school-aged children.

Author, Dr Helen Gleeson, who was commissioned by the Department of Education and the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention, also looked at the most effective means of intervening in cases of cyber-bullying and ways to prevent it.

It was published at the launch of the new national Anti-Bullying Centre in Dublin City University (DCU), by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore. The centre has transferred from Trinity College where it was established 18 years ago.

Although Dr Gleeson found some inconsistencies in existing research, such as in the levels of cyber-bullying reported, there was also common ground.

Experience

Cyber-bullying is less prevalent than traditional forms of bullying, but most young people involved in cyber-bullying also tend to have experience of traditional bullying.

In Ireland, 24pc of children reported experiencing traditional bullying, while 4pc reported experiencing cyber-bullying, rising to 9pc-10pc for mid-adolescents.

Dr Gleeson found that most research suggests that the bullying experience is likely to exacerbate existing mental health difficulties, such as anxiety or depression, which, in turn, may increase the risk of harm of suicidal ideation.

She said experiencing cyberbullying was most likely to be one of a complex range of factors that contribute to poor mental health and self harm or suicide ideation among young people.

Girls are at greater risk of negative impacts of being cyberbullied, but may be more likely to seek support than boys.

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It’s widely reported in the media coverage of this report that 4% of students are cyber bullied, rising to 9-10% for mid adolescents. Research from the ABC found that a lot of young people don’t recognise that what is happening to them is cyberbullying. They see it as something that happens to others. Consequently they under report. Education needed to empower these students.

Bullying at school affects health 40 years later. [The Telegraph, by Rebecca Smith, 18/04/2014]

Researchers said the effects of bullying were as serious as sexual or physical abuse by an adult or childhood neglect.

A major long-term study found children who were bullied were more likely to experience depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and poor physical health when they were 50-years-old than those who had not been victimised.

Senior author, Professor Louise Arseneault, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, said: “When we compared the effects to other childhood adversities such as being put in care, abuse by an adult or neglect, it is of the same scale. It is should be put in the same bracket.

“Some children will be set on a pathway towards problems for the rest of their lives. We need to take bullying seriously and do all we can to prevent it and help those children when it does happen.”

The British National Child Development Study includes data on all children born in England, Scotland and Wales during one week in 1958.

A team at King’s College London examined data on 7,771 children whose parents provided information on their child’s bullying when they were aged seven and 11.

More than one in four had been bullied occasionally and around one in seven frequently.

They then underwent several tests throughout their lives and gave feedback on their own health.

At age 50 they were less likely to have qualifications, less likely to live with a spouse or partner and have less social support.

Those who had been bullied had lower scores on a word memory test designed to measure cognitive IQ even when their childhood intelligence levels were taken into account.

Prof Arseneault said: “Previous studies have shown that bullying really gets under the skin and affects the biology at a cellular level. The word recall test indicates bullying victims were showing signs of early ageing. We are conducting further research to push this finding further.”

It was also found people who were bullied as children were more likely to report that they had poor health.

The study said that due to the techniques used to measure mental and physical health it is likely their findings are an underestimate of the long-term effects of bullying.

Dr Ryu Takizawa, lead author of the paper from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, says: “Our study shows that the effects of bullying are still visible nearly four decades later.

“The impact of bullying is persistent and pervasive, with health, social and economic consequences lasting well into adulthood.”

The researchers said in the American Journal of Psychiatry that bullying may trigger a cycle of victimisation that lasts a lifetime.

Barbara Macintosh, of the Mental Health Foundation and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, said we know what can help children but it is not happening in practice.

She said: “This is a shocking report, it shows how really serious the effects of bullying are It is so unnecessary for adults to be suffering in their 50s from events in school.

“We hope this will be a catalyst to spur action.

“We would like to see all schools and children’s organisations have a much clearer and more systematic approach to dealing with bullying.”

Prof Dieter Wolke, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Warwick Department of Psychology, this was an important study which should be taken seriously by schools, communities and the health service.

He said: “By the time a child turns 18 they will have spent many more hours with peers than with their parents yet peers are often overlooked when someone is in distress, they are always asked about their relationship with their parents.

“Children don’t dress like their parents or listen to the same music as them – their peers are a much more important influence than has been realised. It is a terrible thing to be excluded by your peers.”

He said parents should be alert to bullying between siblings as this often translates to school and not be too harsh in their parenting or to overprotective as this discourages children from reporting bullying.

Health professionals must also be alert to physical signs of distress that could have their roots in bullying, such as persistent headaches or stomachaches which children often report when they are anxious.

He said: “Parents should always talk to their child before they go running to the school. And help your child make friends, let them have sleepovers and things like that, because having friends protects against victimisation.”

Emma-Jane Cross, chief executive and founder of BeatBullying, said: “With current generations facing even greater threats from cyberbullying and trolling than those in the study, we can only assume that the consequences of bullying could be even more damaging for future generations.

“We need an urgent review of how bullying and cyberbullying is tackled in this country led by an anti-bullying tsar – covering the role of industry, schools and Government, and ensuring that children who are bullied receive the counselling support they desperately need.”