I'm eager to share this story which Lynette Holloway wrote about a new study on how bullying behaviors in childhood can impact them as adults...which is the focus of my own research. I invite you to share your impressions on this timely subject in the comments section below.
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| Jonathan Martin |
Last spring, Miami Dolphins lineman Jonathan Martin (pictured) wrote his mother a tormented message.
“I was sobbing in a rented yacht bathroom,” Martin wrote to his mother after he was bullied last spring, the Miami Herald reports.
“I’m never gonna change,” continued Martin, who
took time off from the team as a result of bullying. “I got punked again
today. Like a little b—-. And I never do anything about it,” the Herald
reports. At one point, according to the story, Martin, who is Black,
chalked up his acceptance of bullying “to white private school
conditioning,” where he learned to turn “the other cheek.”
Unfortunately, Martin, who reportedly suffers from symptoms of depression,
may be on to something. A new study shows that students who were the
victims of bullying have worse mental and physical health, more symptoms
of depression and lower self-worth and the symptoms appears to last
into adulthood, NBC News reports, citing a new study.
The study, published in “Monday’s Pediatrics” shows
that the impact of bullying can manifest into mental and physical
health problems that grow over time, NBC News reports.
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| childrenshospital.org |
Researchers from the Division of General Pediatrics
at Boston Children’s Hospital followed 4,297 children in Los Angeles;
Birmingham, Ala.; and Houston, Texas at three points: fifth, seventh,
and 10th grades, the report says. Students were asked about bullying and
they were asked to complete questionnaires that looked for symptoms of
depression, low self-esteem and poor physical health.
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| moundcreekranch.com |
Students who were bullied showed high levels of
depressive symptoms, low self-worth and more problems with basic
physical activity, the report says. The longer bullying occurred, the
symptoms heightened over time. While 10th graders complained of
problems, for example, kids who also experienced bullying in the fifth
and seventh grades reported the worst symptoms. Nearly half of the
students, who were bullied over long stretches of time, exhibited poor
psychological health at a rate that was seven times higher than kids who
were never bullied, the report says.
“We’re seeing that the effects of bullying get
worse over time,” Dr. Laura Bogart, a social psychologist in the
Division of General Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and lead
author on the study, told NBC News. “This gives more evidence that it’s important to intervene early.”
(c) Copyright Robyn King 2014. All Rights Reserved.
