Students bullied in Year 10 have been found to have an almost
two-fold increase in likelihood of depressive symptoms in Year 11.
And Year 10 students who admitted to bullying others were found to
have a two-fold increase in likelihood of theft, violent behaviour
and binge drinking in Year 11.
The new study, published in a special issue of Criminal
Behaviour and Mental Health on bullying, draws on data from
the International Youth Development Study, a longitudinal study of
5,769 students from Victoria, Australia, and Washington State,
United States. Students participating in the study completed up to
six annual surveys.
The study asked 700 Victorian students in Years 7, 10 and 11
about their experience as either perpetrators or victims of
bullying, and is part of an ongoing collaboration between the
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Washington, the
University of Melbourne, Deakin University and the Centre for
Adolescent Health at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne.
The longitudinal study found that rates of bullying
victimisation exceeded 30 per cent and that up to 20 per cent of
students surveyed had engaged in bullying perpetration. More boys
than girls engaged in bullying perpetration, although the rate of
bullying victimisation was similar for boys and girls.
Lead researcher Dr Sheryl Hemphill, who completed this work at
the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, said the study showed
that both bullying perpetration and victimisation in Year 10 were
associated with deleterious adolescent behaviours in Year 11.
Surprisingly, the study did not show a strong association for such
behaviours among Year 7 students.
"Prevention approaches which target bullying perpetration and
victimisation, particularly among older students, may have a
positive impact on other related behaviours, including binge
drinking, violent behaviour, and depression," Dr Hemphill said.
It is hoped the study will help focus attention on the delivery
of evidence-based anti-bullying programs in schools that are
effective in reducing the incidence of bullying and may also
prevent other deleterious outcomes for adolescents.
The findings of this Victorian study will contribute to a larger
meta-analysis combining the results of several studies to consider
the consequences of bullying.