Bullying's Impact on Children's Physical and Mental Health

Introduction

Despite increasingly aggressive efforts by school districts across the country, approximately one in five young people in the United States are officially estimated to become victims of bullying at their schools each year. As a direct consequence, bullying in schools represents a major public health issue that has been shown to elevate the risk — for both victims and bullies — of suffering from a constellation of negative social, educational, and healthcare outcomes during childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood (Armitage, 2021). The implications of bullying clearly involve multiple psychological and medical issues that require timely interventions, making this topic appropriate for further analysis by healthcare practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to review the relevant literature to provide a working definition of bullying, followed by a discussion of its adverse effects on children's physical and mental health throughout their lifespans. The paper concludes with a summary of the main findings that emerged from the literature review.

Definition of Bullying

Although there is no universal legal definition and laws vary from state to state, a useful general definition of bullying underscores the wide range of human interactions and relationships that can create a bullying situation. According to one authority, "Bullying is generally defined as an intentional act that causes harm to others, and may involve verbal harassment, verbal or non-verbal threats, physical assault, stalking, or other methods of coercion such as manipulation, blackmail, or extortion" (Bullying Law and Legal Definition, 2022, para. 3). In other words, bullying involves some form of aggressive behavior that is intentionally used to physically harm or otherwise intimidate another individual (Bullying Law, 2022). More specifically, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a formal definition of bullying that included three main components: (1) unwanted aggressive behavior; (2) observed or perceived power imbalance; and (3) repetition or high likelihood of repetition of bullying behaviors (Facts about Bullying, 2022).

Because bullying by definition involves ongoing harm to another person in countless ways, many of these behaviors are criminal in nature when applied to adults. In far too many cases, bullying is regarded as a rite of passage by unconcerned adults — including parents and educators who survived the practice themselves. In many instances, however, bullying involves more subtle, non-violent behaviors that still cause harm to others, a concern that has taken on new importance as a growing number of young people turn to social media for news, entertainment, and socialization (Hockenberry et al., 2022).

Hockenberry et al. (2022) emphasize that current estimates of bullying prevalence are likely too low. For example, they note that "although bullying can occur in any setting, it most often occurs in school hallways or on the playground where supervision is minimal but peers are present to witness the attack" (p. 839). The general anonymity afforded by many social media platforms has also encouraged online bullying behaviors, a trend known as cyberbullying (Hockenberry et al., 2022). There are multiple other antecedents to these harmful behaviors, but irrespective of its causes, a growing body of evidence confirms that bullying has numerous adverse effects on children's mental and physical health, as discussed further below.

Conclusion

People can be mean, and most are from time to time even when they do not intend to be. Nevertheless, the research is consistent in showing that bullying always involves harmful behaviors that can cause long-term mental and physical health problems extending into adulthood. Because bullying appears to be ubiquitous in the nation's schools and these behaviors are especially resistant to change, it is clear that more must be done at every level to break the intergenerational cycle of a mindset that accepts — at least in part — bullying behaviors in schools.