October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and a new study has found that teens who are bullied in high school tend to be more pessimistic about their futures.
Researchers found that young people who experienced interpersonal bullying were more likely to develop symptoms of depression and become more pessimistic about their academic and career prospects after high school over time. Interpersonal bullying includes spreading rumors, being intentionally ignored, and being excluded from group activities.
Hannah L. Schachter, an assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said students’ perceptions of social misfits can spread to other areas of their lives.
“You’re receiving messages from your co-workers that you don’t deserve positive treatment, and that can generalize to other areas of your life,” Schacter says. Explained. “Now you are anticipating that you will not be able to do well academically or perhaps achieve what you wanted in terms of work or life plans.”
The study began with more than 300 ninth-graders from 38 different high schools across Michigan. Students completed an online survey multiple times per year over a three-year period.
The researchers found that students who experienced overt victimization, such as direct verbal or physical attacks, did not report lower expectations for the future. Previous research has shown that relationship victimization has long-term effects on elementary school students’ academic performance and standardized test scores. Schachter argued that schools need to view the effects of bullying not only as a difficult social problem, but also as an educational priority.
“As awareness grows that bullying can negatively impact teens, more schools are at least adopting anti-bullying policies,” Schacter acknowledged. “Unfortunately, implementing large-scale, evidence-based school interventions against bullying can be very time-consuming and costly.”
He said strong communication between researchers, policy makers and administrators is key to dealing with bullying so it doesn’t become too burdensome for schools and what researchers have learned. He added that it is important to ensure that the information is supported by
