Is Being Bullied Worse Than Child Abuse?

We know bullying is a problem that schools struggle to control. But most of us will be shocked to hear that the impact of bullying is worse than child abuse when it comes to mental health.

In a longitudinal study of over 5,000 English and American children, results indicated that being bullied by peers puts you at risk for mental health problems as adults. Those problems include depression, anxiety, suicidality or self-harm. The risk was higher for kids bullied than for children who were maltreated by adults.

Child maltreatment was defined as physical, emotional maltreatment, sexual abuse, neglect, or negligent treatment resulting in potential or actual harm to a child. When you combine the mistreatment of a child by an adult with bullying by a peer, the combination also leads to adult mental health problems.

The American children who were bullied but not abused were five times more likely to suffer anxiety. The English children in that same category suffered more depression and self-harm as adults.

So while we need to keep preventing child abuse, ways to eliminate bullying need to remain front and center and on the minds of educators and parents.

According to a study conducted at the University of Texas at Arlington and published in the Journal of Criminology (September 2013), students at anti-bullying initiative schools are MORE likely to be bullied. The reason according to bullying expert Stuart Twemlow, whenever you target a group of specific people, things get worse. These programs may actually be giving bullies ideas on how to bully better. Not exactly the intended impact when it comes to prevention! Zero tolerance policies are not working either. In fact, the NEA gives these policies a big "F" for effectiveness as well.

Twemlow believes that a school's norms, values, and expectations need to change in a positive way to support prosocial behavior. Instead of focusing on the negative, he advocates promoting kindness!

I like the concept. However, while you can reinforce prosocial behaviors, true change requires a change of heart. Kindness is a fruit of the spirit. The child whose heart is changed by a relationship with Christ will evidence that fruit.

With the rise in bullying, the movement to take God out of education may be one of the problems. A culture that seeks only secular solutions to heart problems will continue to struggle.