A recent study published in the Nature Mental Health journal found that childhood bullying, whether it’s physical or verbal, can have lasting effects on children.
This can lead them to develop a sense of distrust, which might result in significant mental health problems during adolescence.
The study, led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Health and the University of Glasgow, is the first to explore the connection between developing distrust after childhood bullying and subsequent mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, anger, and hyperactivity.
The researchers analyzed data from 10,000 children in the United Kingdom who were bullied for nearly two decades. The study discovered that children bullied at age 11 and who later developed greater interpersonal distrust by age 14 were “3.5 times more likely to experience clinically significant mental health problems at age 17 compared to those who developed less distrust.”
UCLA Health noted that this study is the “first to confirm the suspected pathway of how bullying leads to distrust and, in turn, mental health problems in late adolescents.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 44.2% of US high school students experienced depression for at least two weeks in 2021, and one in 10 attempted suicide.
After examining various factors like diet, sleep, or physical activity, the study found that “interpersonal distrust” was the only factor linking bullying to a “higher risk of mental health problems at age 17.”
The study approached these trends using Social Safety Theory, which suggests that social threats, including bullying, impact mental health partly by instilling the belief that others cannot be trusted or that the world is an unfriendly, dangerous, or unpredictable place, according to UCLA Health.
Dr. George Slavich, the study’s senior author, believes that these findings could guide schools and other institutions in countering the negative impacts of bullying. He suggests the need for “school-based programs” to foster interpersonal trust in the classroom and school. Evidence-based programs, especially those focusing on the transition to high school and college, can help develop close, long-lasting relationships, according to Dr. Slavich.