The Telegraph – Javier Espinoza
” Being bullied as a child has more damaging consequences than being the victim of abuse or neglect, a new study shows. Children who are bullied are around five times more likely to experience anxiety and are nearly as twice as likely to report more depression and self-harm at age 18 than children who are maltreated. The study of roughly 5,500 youngsters led by academics at Warwick and Duke universities goes against the long-held belief that those who suffer maltreatment suffer trauma for decades whereas those who are bullied merely go through “a rite of passage”. Children who are victims of bullying suffer more damaging, long-lasting effects because it is downplayed by teachers and parents and not addressed as quickly as maltreatment, researchers said. Professor William Copeland at North Carolina’s Duke University School of Medicine said: “The long term effects of bullying are anxiety, depression [or suicidal tendencies. We looked at those who were bullied only, maltreated only and exposed to both and found that the negative effects are higher in those bullied than maltreated.”(more)