Psychiatric disorders linked to bullying

Bullying and victimisation in childhood can lead to psychiatric disorders in early adulthood. Children who bully or are victims of bullies have a tendency to develop mental problems as they grow up. Very often, behavioural problems in children can help in determining personality disorders in their adulthood. To assess this problem, researchers at the University of Finland examined 2540 boys born in 1981. At the age of 8 years, these boys were asked whether and how often they bullied other children, were targets of bullying, or both. Parents and teachers also answered questions about bullying or victimisation. This information was then compared with psychiatric diagnoses in young adulthood - made during medical exams for compulsory military service and army registry at 18 to 23 years of age. The results indicated a peculiar relationship between the childhood behavioural problems of these subjects and psychiatric disorders of their early adulthood. It was found that, boys who habitually bullied were more likely than their peers to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder as young men. Similarly, boys who were frequent victims of bullying had a higher risk of anxiety disorders as young men. Boys who were both perpetrators and victims of bullying appeared to be the worst off; they had elevated risks of both anxiety disorders and antisocial personality disorder as young adults. Information about frequent bullying and victimisation as primary screening for children at risk identified 28% of those with a psychiatric disorder 10 to 15 years later. Thus, there exists a predictive association between bullying and victimization in school years and psychiatric disorders in early adulthood. For parents of bullies and bullying victims alike, it's vital to work with teachers and school health staff to help their children. The school health and educational system have a major role in identifying and helping such children. With an effective and careful monitoring of such children, one can easily avoid the risk of mental problems later.