How to avoid long term effects of schoolyard bullying for givers and receivers

For some the effects of schoolyard bullying can linger into adulthood, with periods of depression and anxiety, and for others there are no lasting effects. What factors define one group over the other?

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) researched 1150 13-14 year old students to identify how many were bullied or bullied others. In a longitudinal study – Bullying in Early Adolescence and Antisocial Behavior and Depression Six Years Later: What are the Protective Factors? – the same students were surveyed six years later to gauge the long term effects of their experiences (Sydney Morning Herald, March 16, 2014).

Of the 1150 students, 25% had been bullied and 20% admitted to bullying others. At 19-20 years of age, those who were bullied were twice as likely than those were were not bullied to have depression. At 19-20 those that bullied others were more likely than those who didn’t bully others to be anti-social, vandalise property, and commit criminal offences, such as drug trafficking and assaults.

Researchers subsequently identified factors that minimised the long term effects of bullying. Information was drawn from the AIFS Australian Temperament Project in which researchers followed participants since 1983. From this information researchers examined potential risk and protective factors.

Bullied students who had high social skills and coped well with school work were much less likely to develop depression later in life. However, a high attachment to friends and peers intensified the risk between feeling victimized and later depression.

Bullies who had parents involved in their lives were much less like to be anti-social and commit criminal offences and were much more likely to avoid legal and social problems in the long term. Those that had more stable temperaments and did not over-react to situation or get easily upset and frustrated were better able to handle life by the time they reached adulthood. The main factor that prevented former bullies from becoming anti-social adults was the behaviour of their parents or guardians.

Therefore having low negative reactions was found to protect bullies from later anti-social outcomes. Higher parental monitoring moderated the risk between bullying and anti-social behaviour. Parents or older figures who imparted social skills, responsible behaviour, and consequences for actions, as well as knowing where their teenagers were and what they were doing, tended to assist them from becoming anti-social later in life.

For both the bullied and the person bullying, the most effective interventions or self-help actions were those that targeted: (1) improving social and interpersonal skills, (2) improving parent-student relationships, and (3) improving peer-to-peer relationships. Preventative and protective measures that included these three factors may be effective in reducing adverse and long term effects of bullying.

Vassallo S, Edwards B, Renda J and Olsson C, Journal of School Violence v.13 no.1, 2014: 100-124 - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15388220.2013.840643?journalCode=wjsv20#.Uyc6kT_NvIV

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/bully-or-bullied-social-skills-are-key-says-australian-institute-of-family-studies-20140315-34ttr.html#ixzz2w6GVn4vr