Effects of childhood bullying continue even 40 years after the abuse, a new research by King's College London shows.
Researchers analysed data gathered from the British National Child Development Study that has information on all children born in England, Scotland and Wales during one week in 1958.
This 50-year-long study asked the parents of these participants about their child's exposure to bullying when they were aged between 7 and 11. The researchers tracked these children till the age of 50.
The researchers noted that 28 percent of children were bullied occasionally and 15 percent were oppressed quite often.
The study findings revealed that people who were bully victims had more chances of poorer physical and psychological health and cognitive functioning at age of 50. Those who were repeatedly bullied in childhood had heightened risk of depression, anxiety disorders and suicidal thoughts.
Bully victims also had higher chances of having lower educational levels and men were either unemployed or had less income.
The bully victims also scored poor on social relationships and well-being. They were less likely to be in a relationship, have good social support, and reported lower quality of life and life satisfaction.
"We need to move away from any perception that bullying is just an inevitable part of growing-up. Teachers, parents and policy-makers should be aware that what happens in the school playground can have long-term repercussions for children. Programmes to stop bullying are extremely important, but we also need to focus our efforts on early intervention to prevent potential problems persisting into adolescence and adulthood," Professor Louise Arseneault, senior author, also from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's said in a news release.
Professor Arseneault added, "40 years is a long time, so there will no doubt be additional experiences during the course of these young people's lives which may either protect them against the effects of bullying, or make things worse. Our next step is to investigate what these are."
The study was published in the 'American Journal of Psychiatry.'
