essay about bullying

“Negative impact of childhood bullying on adult”

            Bullying is systematic abuse of power and refers to repeated aggression against another person that is intentional and involves an imbalance of power (Olweus, 1994). The repeated aggression can be either direct (e.g., name calling, beating) or relational, that is, with the intent to damage relationships (e.g., spreading rumors; Wolke, Woods, Bloomfield, & Karstadt, 2000). Children can be perpetrators or victims of bullying, and some children both bully and get victimized (bully-victims). Being bullied or bullying others is a relatively common experience in childhood and adolescence (Nansel et al., 2001). Negative impact of childhood bullying on adult from the journal the author found that some negative impact.

            First, health be participants reported whether they had been diagnosed with a serious physical illness or been in a serious accident at any point during young adulthood and whether they had had a sexually transmitted disease (i.e., a positive test result for herpes, genital warts, chlamydia, or HIV). Weight and height measurements were used to derive body mass index, with obesity defined as a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2. Participants were assessed for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), psychiatric diagnosis (any DSM-IV anxiety disorder, any depressive disorder, and antisocial personality disorder). Regular smoking was defined as smoking one or more cigarettes per day for 3 months. Self-reported perceived poor health, high illness-contagion risk, and slow illness recovery were derived from a physical-health-problems survey (National Center for Health Statistics, 1988).

            Social relationship.  Marital, parenthood, and divorce status were determined through self-report at the last adult assessment. The quality of the subject’s relationship with his or her parents, spouse or significant other, and friends (including arguments or violence) was assessed at each assessment. Variables were included to indicate any violence in a romantic relationship, a poor relationship with one’s parents, absence of a best friend or confidante, and problems making or keeping friends.

            The last Risky or illegal behaviors. Official felony charges were garnered from North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts records. Self-report data were used to assess recent police contact; frequent lying to others; frequent physical fighting; breaking into a home, business, or property; frequent drunkenness (drinking to excess at least once weekly for 3 months); recent use of marijuana or other illegal substances; and frequency of one-time sexual encounters with strangers (“hooking up” with strangers for a one-night stand). Specifically, both victims and bully-victims showed poorer health (victims: β = −0.45, SE = 0.11, p < .001; bully-victims: β = −1.22, SE = 0.28, p < .001), but bullies did not (β = −0.21, SE = 0.14, p = .11). For risky or illegal behaviors, bullies and bully-victims had more negative outcomes (bullies: β = −0.82, SE = 0.25, p < .001; bully-victims: β = −0.44, SE = 0.19, p = .02), but victims did not (β = −0.13, SE = 0.10, p = .16). For social functioning, all three groups involved in bullying displayed more negative problem scores (bullies: β = −0.62, SE = 0.24, p = .009; victims: β = −0.27, SE = 0.11, p = 0.01; bully-victims: β = −0.91, SE = 0.31, p = .003).

            The conclusion, being bullied is not a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up but throws a long shadow over affected children’s lives. Victims, in particular chronic victims and bully-victims, are at increased risk for adverse health, financial, and social outcomes in adulthood.