Study: Bullying Can Lead To Mental Health Issues

ROYAL OAK (WWJ) - There's new evidence that bullying can lead to serious mental health problems later in life.

British researchers say exposure to bullying during childhood leads to an increased risk of paranoia and schizophrenia in adulthood, regardless of whether the kids are victims or perpetrators.

Their study assessed children from birth and found chronic victims and the bullies themselves were about four and a half times more likely to have suffered some type of psychosis by age 18.

Beaumont Hospital anti-bullying expert Dr. Marlene Seltzer said the findings should be a wake up call to adults who doubt the long-term damage bullying can cause.

"The kids who are being bullied, the kids who are doing the bullying. and the kids who are just witnessing, they're all at risk for adverse outcomes later in their life," Seltzer told WWJ Health Reporter Sean Lee.

"And, so, we need to — as a social whole —to really address all those different roles," said Seltzer, "and really try and let our youth focus on other things in life."

The study appeared Tuesday in the journal Psychological Medicine.

[Learn more about the study HERE].