The Damage Is Done: Victims of Bullying as Adults

People often see bullying as a single sided event that happens in one's childhood and stays there. It's also a common thought that bullying is just a part of growing up. However, there are long term effects for bullies, victims of bullying, and a combination of those who were bullied but were also bullies themselves. Bullying is a traumatic event for any child; it affects the child's future, not just their current daily life. It's well known that children are the most commonly bullied; yet, do we understand the effects that bullying has on adolescents as they turn into young adults?

A childhood development study of over fourteen hundred children, involved in bullying, was analyzed and some intresting, and disturbing, facts have surfaced. These children were studied from the age of 9 until the ages of 25 or 26. Participants of this study were interviewed at different ages to determine their mental health at that specific time; the initial interview at 9, second interview at age 11 or 13, then back for follow-up studies at ages 19, 21, and 25 or 26. Based on the study’s findings, the majority of children involved in bullying have more difficulties as adults than kids not involved in bullying.

"For example, pure victims [of bullying] are four times as likely to develop an anxiety disorder in adulthood..." (Pappas). As a result of bullying, children associate social interactions as negative experiences. Also, the majority of bullied children are known to live below the poverty level. These children already have a difficult start at life and by them being bullied, unnecessary stressors are being added to the childs already wearisome existance. They are usually traumatized by bullies, who are typically the child's equal, and they l...

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...on should be like. A stand against bullying can be taken by people in all walks of life. I, for one, have pledged to speak up when witnessing anyone, of any age, being bullied. What a different world this would be if we all remembered the golden rule, "Treat others the way we want to be treated."

Works Cited

“Bullying Exerts Psychiatric Effects Into Adulthood.” National Institute of Mental Health. Science Update. 11 June 2013. n. pag. Web. 18 March 2014.

Castillo, Michelle. “Bullying duration linked to lingering health effects.” CBS News. cbsnews.com. 17 February 2014. Web. 19 March 2014.

Coughlan, Sean. “Childhood bullying ‘damages adult life’.” BBC Education & Family News. bbc.com. 19 August 2013. 17 March 2014

Pappas, Stephanie. “Long-Term Effects Of Bullying: Pain Lasts Into Adulthood.” Huffington Post. huffingtonpost.com. 20 February 2013, Web. 17 March 2014