Bullying during childhood years has been found to have an effect on the individual's adult health life. A new study revealed that kids who were bullied is likely to develop mental illness or turned into disturbed adults.
A team of researchers made used of the information gathered by Canada's University of Victoria which carried out the Victoria Health Youth Survey. The research was done every two years from 2003 to 2014.
The results of the extensive study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health and it shows that bullying during childhood can lead to health problems in adulthood. The experts mentioned that one of the health issues that can arise later is mental or psychiatric illness.
Bullied kids who were victims of physically or psychological abuse can develop long-term physical health problems after high school. Alanna D. Hager, the co-author of the study said through email to Reuters, "These health problems, be it depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, or poor self-concepts, can interfere with several life domains including academic and occupational performance, relationship satisfaction, economic success and more severe health outcomes."
Another co-author Bonnie J. Leadbeater of the University of Victoria, British Columbia added, "The study highlights that early adolescence is a sensitive time for the implementation of intervention and prevention efforts that can curb trajectories of health problems for youth."
The researches interviewed over 600 kids with ages from 12 to 19. They were asked what kind of bullying they experienced in school and if they have any health problem.
It was discovered that about 29 to 52 percent of the boys were physically bullied while for girls, the rate was from 20 to 29 percent. The rates are even higher for emotional bullying - 28 to 67 percent of the boys were victimized while it was 37 to 54 percent for girls. The effects of bullying is far more severe for girls as they shown piteous body appearance and have more physical issues.
Finally, Leadbeater stated that the findings from their study is like a warning bell. She reiterated the importance of forming prevention programs for adolescents so that the negative impact of bullying could be avoided from happening in adulthood.