Abstract
Childhood bullying is a well-known public health problem world-wide. Research has described numerous health and mental health effects on victims, bullies, and bystanders. While there are studies of contemporaneous consequences, there is still much to be discovered in terms of the impact of childhood bullying lasting into adult life. This qualitative inquiry investigated the aftermath of childhood bullying for young adults in terms of their health, mental health, and relationship issues. Further, it asked participants for their definitions of bullying. The study was part of a mixed-methods inquiry. For the qualitative portion, 72 graduate and undergraduate students in the U.S., ages 18 to 29, participated as a purposive sample. The majority of participants were Caucasian and female, though 28% percent represented minority groups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted lasting approximately 1 h each. A participatory action research approach was taken to understand the lived experiences and perceptions of the young adults. Grounded theory was utilized in reviewing the data for thematic responses. Member checks and triangulation were employed to substantiate credibility, authenticity, and coherence of the data. Content analysis revealed lasting consequences in (a) mental and psychological well-being (b) eating disorders, weight, and body image, and (c) relationship and trust issues. Results are indicative of the need for further research on childhood bullying as it affects later adolescent and young adult development. Understanding the aftermath of childhood bullying is important in informing bullying interventions and maintaining a focus on early prevention efforts.
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
02 August 2019
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
References
Allison, S., Roeger, L., & Reinfeld-Kirkman, N. (2009). Does school bullying affect adult health? Population survey of health-related quality of life and past victimization. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(12), 1163–1170. https://doi.org/10.3109/00048670903270399prevention.
Arseneault, L., Cannon, M., Fisher, H.L., Polanczyk, G., Moffitt, T.E., & Caspi, A. (2011). Childhood trauma and children’s emerging psychotic symptoms: a genetically sensitive longitudinal cohort study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168(1), 65–72. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10040567.
Baumeister, R.F., & Leary, M.R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497 https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497.
Beck, A.T., Davis, D.D. & Freeman, A. (Eds.) (2015). Cognitive therapy of personality disorders. New York, N. Y: Guilford Publications.
Birkett, M., Espelage, D.L., & Koenig, B. (2009). LGB and questioning students in schools: The moderating effects of homophobic bullying and school climate on negative outcomes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(7), 989–1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9389-1.
Bowes, L., Arsenault, L., Maughan, B., Taylor, A., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. (2009). School, neighborhood, and family factors are associated with children’s bullying involvement: A nationally representative longitudinal study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48(5), 545–553. https://doi.org/10.1097/CHI.0b013e31819cb017.
Caracelli, V., & Greene, J. (1997). Crafting mixed-method evaluation designs. New Directions for Evaluation, 74, 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1069.
Carlisle, N., & Rofes, E. (2007). School bullying: Do adult survivors perceive long-term effects? Traumatology, 13(1), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534765607299911.
Copeland, W.E., Bulik, C.M., Zucker, N., Wolke, D., Lereya, S.T., & Costello, E.J. (2015). Does childhood bullying predict eating disorder symptoms? A prospective, longitudinal analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48(8), 1141–1149. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22459.
Copeland, W.E., Wolke, D., Angold, A., & Costello, E.J. (2013). Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(4), 419–426. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.504.
Copeland, W.E., Wolke, D., Lereya, S.T., Shanahan, L., Worthman, C., & Costello, E.J. (2014). Childhood bullying involvement predicts low-grade systemic inflammation into adulthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(21), 7570–7575. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1323641111.
Cunningham, N.J., Taylor, M., Whitten, M.E., Hardesty, P.H., Eder, K., & DeLaney, N. (2010). The relationship between self‐perception of physical attractiveness and sexual bullying in early adolescence. Aggressive Behavior, 36(5), 271–281. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20354.
de Arellano, M.A.R., Lyman, D.R., Jobe-Shields, L., George, P., Dougherty, R.H., Daniels, A.S., & Delphin-Rittmon, M.E. (2014). Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for children and adolescents: Assessing the evidence. Psychiatric Services, 65(5), 591–602. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201300255.
deLara, E.W. (2008). Developing a philosophy about bullying and sexual harassment: Cognitive coping strategies among high school students. Journal of School Violence, 7(4), 72–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220801973862.
deLara, E.W. (2012). Why adolescents don’t disclose incidents of bullying and harassment to adults. Journal of School Violence, 11(4), 288–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2012.705931.
deLara, E.W. (2016). Bullying scars: The impact of childhood bullying on adult life and relationships. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
DeVooght, K., Daily, S., Darling-Churchill, K., Temkin, D., Novak, M., & VanderVen, K. (2015). Bullies in the Block Area. www.ChildTrends.org
Eisenberg, M.E., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (2003). Associations of weight-based teasing and emotional well-being among adolescents. Archives of pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 157(8), 733–738. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.157.8.733.
Espelage, D.L., & De La Rue, L. (2012). School bullying: its nature and ecology. International. Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 24(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh.2012.002.
Espelage, D.L., Hong, J.S., & Mebane, S. (2016). Recollections of childhood bullying and multiple forms of victimization: correlates with psychological functioning among college students. Social Psychology of Education, 19(4), 715–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-9352-z.
Fosse, G.K., & Holen, A. (2006). Childhood maltreatment in adult female psychiatric outpatients with eating disorders. Eating Behaviors, 7(4), 404–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2005.12.006.
Gaynor, A.K. (1998). Analyzing problems in schools and school systems: A theoretical approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Gladden, R.M., Vivolo-Kantor, A.M., Hamburger, M.E., & Lumpkin, C.D. (2014). Bullying surveillance among youths: Uniform definitions for public health and recommended data elements. Atlanta, Georgia: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Gladstone, G.L., Parker, G.B., & Malhi, G.S. (2006). Do bullied children become anxious and depressed adults?: A cross-sectional investigation of the correlates of bullying and anxious depression. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 194(3), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nmd.0000202491.99719.c3.
Greenwood, D.J., & Levin, M. (2006). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change, 2nd edn. New York, N. Y: Sage Publications.
Hawkes, N. (2015). Bullying in childhood may be linked to heart disease risk, study says. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 350.
Hill, C., & Kearl, H. (2011). Crossing the line: Sexual harassment at school. 1111 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC20036: American Association of University Women.
Hofmann, S.G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I.J., Sawyer, A.T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427–440.
Hoetger, L.A., Hazen, K.P., & Brank, E.M. (2015). All in the family: A retrospective study comparing sibling bullying and peer bullying. Journal of Family Violence, 30(1), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-014-9651-0.
Kaltiala-Heino, R., Rimpelä, M., Rantanen, P., & Rimpelä, A. (2000). Bullying at school—an indicator of adolescents at risk for mental disorders. Journal of Adolescence, 23(6), 661–674. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0351.
Knack, J.M., Jensen-Campbell, L.A., & Baum, A. (2011). Worse than sticks and stones? Bullying is associated with altered HPA axis functioning and poorer health. Brain and Cognition, 77(2), 183–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2011.06.011.
Kosciw, J.G., Greytak, E.A., Bartkiewicz, M.J., Boesen, M.J., & Palmer, N.A. (2012). The 2011 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in Our Nation’s Schools. 121 West 27th Street Suite 804, New York, NY 10001: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
Leary, M.R. (1990). Responses to social exclusion: Social anxiety, jealousy, loneliness, depression, and low self-esteem. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 221–229. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1990.9.2.221.
Lehti, V., Sourander, A., Klomek, A., Niemela, S., Sillanmaki, Piha, J., & Almqvist, F. (2011). Childhood bullying as a predictor for becoming a teenage mother in Finland. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(1), 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-010-0147-z.
McCabe, R.E., Antony, M.M., Summerfeldt, L.J., Liss, A., & Swinson, R.P. (2003). Preliminary examination of the relationship between anxiety disorders in adults and self-reported history of teasing or bullying experiences. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 32(4), 187–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506070310005051.
McDougall, P., & Vaillancourt, T. (2015). Long-term adult outcomes of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence: Pathways to adjustment and maladjustment. American Psychologist, 70(4), 300 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039174.
Mishna, F., & Alaggia, R. (2005). Weighing the risks: A child’s decision to disclose peer victimization. Children & Schools, 27(4), 217–226.
Mishna, F., Cook, C., Gadalla, T., Daciuk, J., & Solomon, S. (2010). Cyber bullying behaviors among middle and high school students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(3), 362–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01040.x.
Newman, B.M., & Newman, P.R. (2015). Development through life: A psychosocial approach, 12th edn. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Ouellet-Morin, I., Odgers, C.L., Danese, A., Bowes, L., Shakoor, S., Papadopoulos, A.S., & Arseneault, L. (2011). Blunted cortisol responses to stress signal social and behavioral problems among maltreated/bullied 12-year-old children. Biological Psychiatry, 70(11), 1016–1023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.06.017.
Patchin, J.W., & Hinduja, S. (2015). Measuring cyberbullying: Implications for research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 23, 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.05.013.
Puhl, R.M., & Latner, J.D. (2007). Stigma, obesity, and the health of the nation’s children. Psychological Bulletin, 133(4), 557 https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.4.557.
Puhl, R.M., Peterson, J.L., & Luedicke, J. (2013). Weight-based victimization: Bullying experiences of weight loss treatment–seeking youth. Pediatrics, 131(1), e1–e9. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1106.
Robers, S., Kemp, J., Rathbun, A., & Morgan, R.E. (2014). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013 (NCES 2014-042/NCJ 243299). Washington, D.C: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Rohner, R.P. (1975). They love me, they love me not: A worldwide study of the effects of parental acceptance and rejection. New Haven, CT: HRAF Press.
Rubin, A., & Babbie, E.R. (2008). Research methods for social work. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Saldana, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Shetgiri, R., Espelage, D.L., & Carroll, L. (2015). Practical strategies for clinical management of bullying. New York, NY: Springer.
Smith, P.K., & Sharp, S. (1994). School bullying: Insights and perspectives.. New York, N. Y: Routledge.
Strauss, J., & Corbin, A. (2014). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. 4th edn, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sweetingham, R., & Waller, G. (2008). Childhood experiences of being bullied and teased in the eating disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 16, 401–407. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.839.
Takizawa, R., Maughan, B., & Arseneault, L. (2014). Adult health outcomes of childhood bullying victimization: evidence from a five-decade longitudinal British birth cohort. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(7), 777–784. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13101401.
Ttofi, M.M., Farrington, D.P., Lösel, F., & Loeber, R. (2011). Do the victims of school bullies tend to become depressed later in life? A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 3(2), 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1108/17596591111132873.
Van der Kolk, B.A. (2003). Psychological trauma. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishers.
von Bertalaffy, L. (1968). General system theory: Foundations, development, applications (Revised Edition). New York, NY: George Braziller, Inc.
Wade, TD., Keski‐Rahkonen, A., Hudson, JI. (2011). Epidemiology of eating disorders. In M.T. Tsuang, M. Tohen, P. Jones, (Eds.), Textbook of Psychiatric Epidemiology. (pp. 343–360). New York, N. Y: John Wiley & Sons.
Wehrenberg, M., & Prinz, S. (2007). The anxious brain: The neurobiological basis of anxiety disorders and how to effectively treat them.. New York, N. Y: W.W. Norton & Company.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
deLara, E.W. Consequences of Childhood Bullying on Mental Health and Relationships for Young Adults. J Child Fam Stud 28, 2379–2389 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1197-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1197-y