Negative Effects of Bullying Linger for Decades, Study Finds

Physical and mental effects of bullying can last for a lifetime, a new study has found.

Bullying is often considered a harmless rite of passage that toughens up children. However, a new study by researchers at  King's College London and colleagues has shown that the negative effects of bullying can be seen even after four decades.

The data for the research came from people enrolled in the British National Child Development Study. The study contains data on children born in England, Scotland and Wales during one week in 1958. Parents of 7,771 children provided information on the children's exposure to bullying at seven years of age. The participants were followed until they were 50 years old.

Researchers found that 28 percent of the children in the study had experienced occasional bullying while 15 percent were bullied frequently.

Data analysis showed that children exposed to occasional bullying suffered from poor mental and physical health at age 50 . Children who were bullied often faced severe mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Bullying also interfered with participants' education and income levels. Bullied people were also more likely to develop social relationship problems.

"Our study shows that the effects of bullying are still visible nearly four decades later. The impact of bullying is persistent and pervasive, with health, social and economic consequences lasting well into adulthood," Dr Ryu Takizawa, lead author of the paper from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said in a news release.

According to Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC), about 30 percent of students were bullied on school property in the year 2011.  Previous research has shown that bullying alters a person's genetic structure and makes him/her vulnerable to depression and mood swings later in life.

The study was funded by the British Academy and the Royal Society and is published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.