Bullying has long been considered as one of the cruel and unnecessary side of early childhood for a lot of youngsters. A recent data shows that in over 9,000 respondents of people 40 years and up, the consequences of being bullied is still found to be significant at the age of 50. Thus, suggesting that being a victim of childhood bullying can still be felt into adulthood years when it comes to a person's mental health.
According to Daily Mail, study lead author, Dr. Sara Evans-Lacko believes that in terms of childhood bullying, its effects could be considered notable at an early age. However, although it can already be seen during the early years, the associate professorial from LSE's personal social services research unit claimed that it could still be as significant at 50.
Dr. Evans-Lacko said that for persons who were frequently bullied during their childhood years, it was found that they they're more than twice as likely to avail of various mental health services. As revealed by The Hill, the effects of bullying don't just involve the trauma, but it also includes the element of developmental timing.
It is considered that as a person grows, shifting from his childhood to adolescence to adulthood years, the brain is also said to go through series of developmental periods. Studies show that if the trauma obtained from bullying has happened in the earlier stage of childhood, the victim may actually develop a preference for harm avoidance.
Experts say that forms of harm avoidance can be seen through a person's anxiety, anger, introversion, or the victim's selective bias judgment towards familiar experiences rather than novel based experiences. The trauma has also been found to enable the victim's preference for being detached from any kinds of relationships.
Furthermore, if the trauma starts during a person's school age or pre-adolescence, as what typically happens, victims are said to be closer to a possibility of displaying problems on mental health such as depression, social anxiety and as well as developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Dr. Evans-Lacko firmly believes that policies and practices regarding the prevention of bullying should be considered as a high-priority considering its current massive strain on the health system.
