Short and Long Term Effects of Bullying

Students that are bullied have increased school avoidance, decreases in grades, and difficulties with learning. Victims of bullying can suffer from many things. They might suffer from sleep difficulties, headaches, stomachaches, and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. There are some long term issues they might suffer from like: academic problems, substance use, behavioral issues, and legal problems. Students that are bullied are less likely to obtain meaningful employment and might struggle with independence and relationships as adults. Students that are at highest risk for being targets are LGBTQ students and students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are 2-3 times more likely to be a target of bullying than their peers. 

            There are different types of bullying, which are physical bullying, verbal bullying, social bullying, and cyberbullying. Verbal and social bullying are the two most common types of bullying. Physical bullying happens less often than social bullying and cyberbullying. Physical bullying includes: hitting, kicking, or damaging property. Verbal bullying includes: insults, teasing, or homophobic or racist remarks. Social bullying includes: lying and spreading rumors, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, and damaging someone’s social reputation or social acceptance. Cyber bullying includes: nasty gossip or rumors, abusive or hurtful texts, images, or videos, and imitating others online. 

            160,000 children miss school on any given day due to fear of bullying by other students. More than 280,000 students are physically attacked in schools. 1 out of 10 students who dropout of school mentions repeated bullying as a factor. Students that are bullied often have low self-confidence, frequently experience depression, suicidal thoughts, and even violent outbreaks. Research shows that students who bully are more likely to engage in violent behavior, to steal or vandalize property, to smoke, to drink, to have bad grades, and to carry weapons. 

            There are many ways to reduce or even prevent bullying. Some of the ways are to increase awareness by providing education about what bullying looks like. A set of rules and policies must be put in place and enforced. Schools should create a safe and healthy environment for all students by rewarding those who provide a good example of the school’s policies. There are both long term and short term risks for victims of bullying. Some long term risks are: chronic depression, increased risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide plans, and suicide attempts, anxiety disorders, PTSD, poor general health, self-harm, and trust issues. Some short term risks are: social isolation, feelings of shame, sleep disturbances, changes in eating habits, low self-esteem, school avoidance, symptoms of anxiety, bedwetting, higher risk of illness, poor school performance, and symptoms of depression. These are the many risks that come with being a bully victim, and the reason why people need to do more to try and prevent bullying from happening.