Teenage Bullying Linked to Adult Depression

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There is a casual link between teenage bullying and adult depression, researchers reported on June 2 in the British Medical Journal.

According to Yahoo, there are several previous studies that have shown a link between teen bullying and adult depression. However, existing studies often did not account for other factors that might lead to depression.

Lucy Bowes, a psychologist from the University of Oxford who participated in the study, explains that the study she and her colleagues conducted accounts for such factors that may lead to adult depression in teens.

The other contributing factors include: previous childhood bullying, mental and behavioral problems, family set-up and stressful life events.

According to Science Daily, over 3,898 people, who were all chosen from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, participated in the new study.

Researchers observed bullying and depression data based off of the participants' answers on the questionnaires provided to them.

Science Daily explains that at the age of 13, participants were given "self-report" questionnaires that assessed their exposure to bullying. Later, at 18 years of age, the same participants were assessed for depression.

Researchers found that 14.8 percent of teens, who were bullied more than once a week at the age of 13, were depressed at age 18. While 7.1 percent of teens, who experienced bullying 1–3 times in a period of six months, were diagnosed with depression at 18.

Taking into account the factors previously mentioned, researchers still found a small percentage of teens, who were never bullied at 13 but developed depression at 18.

After controlling other factors that could influence depression at age 18, Bowes said, "we found that kids who reported that they were frequently bullied at 13 were [still] twice as likely to report being clinically depressed at 18."

Other than finding a link between teen bullying and adult depression, the study also found a link between "victimization and non-reporting to teachers and family members," according Maria Ttofi, a psychological criminologist at the University of Cambridge.

In the study, researchers found that 41–74 percent of teens did not report being bullied by their peers to their teachers, while 24–51 percent of teens did not tell their parents about being bullied.

Bowes stresses the importance of putting a stop to bullying as soon as possible with the help of both school and family intervention.

"We know that parents' involvement is really important, and we need to design interventions that are able to bridge the gap between the home and school life," Bowes says.