Follow
Yet another study links bullying to longstanding mental health issue, as it has recently discovered that being bullied as a young teenager can lead to depression in early adulthood. Thus, the importance of anti-bullying measures becomes extremely evident.
According to a study conducted by Oxford University Professor Lucy Bowes, the effects of bullying are extremely dangerous for the well-being of the young adults.
This study has assessed 3,898 patients who took part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). They were initially asked to complete a questionnaire at the age of 13 and then, at the age of 18 they were given a complete mental health examination, in order to determine the presence of depression.
The study revealed that 683 of the 13-year-old teenagers had experienced bullying more than once a week at the age of 13, and later, at the age of 18, 15% of them had been diagnosed with depression.
Furthermore, 1,446 teenagers have reported being bullied once to three times over a period of six months at the age of 13. Out of these teenagers, 7% were depressed at the age of 18.
As for those subjects who had managed to escape the age of 13 without being bullied, only 5,5% of them had been diagnosed with depression at the age of 18.
The findings of the study have been published in the British Medical Journal and constitute yet another proof that there is more to depression than is commonly regarded by adults. Most of them see it as a rite of passage, that can even teach valuable lessons to teenagers, as they need to find ways of solving these problems.
However, scientists are fighting to disprove these people and demonstrate that there are serious mental health consequences to the widespread malice of bullies. Films and other media branches have greatly contributed to the normalization of this phenomenon and have rendered people insensitive to the gravity of its nature by making is amusing.
Just because it constitutes poor humor in some circles does not mean that bullying is a matter that should be taken lightly. On the contrary, strict measures should be taken to make it clear to teenagers that it is not right for them to go through this abuse and that those who partake in such practices need to receive serious punishment, in accordance to their acts.
This is the basis of the solution to this matter, as most teenagers feel ashamed of being continuously abused by bullies and therefore they do not tell their parents or their teachers. Furthermore, they are actually afraid to discuss the matter at home, as many parents tell them that being bullied is an embarrassment.
The little things around this phenomenon manage to give it the power it has gotten to have nowadays, as it has reached gargantuan proportions through the use of internet. Cyberbullying and old-fashioned physical bullying at school, paired with an inappropriate take on the matter from parents and teachers are capable of causing devastating effects.
These teenagers cannot help feeling trapped in this problem and therefore grant it enormous proportions. It should be made clear that the way that the person experiences the problem constitutes the truth for him/her and despite the fact that simple solutions can be viewed from an outside standpoint, that person is unable to regard them as viable options.
This is why every little thing holds great importance, and therefore extensive campaigns need to assess all of these matters individually, so that in the future, teenagers will know that they should not be experiencing bullying, that is definitely not not a normal rite of passage and they have a right to ask for help when it happens without being shamed by their peers.
Image Source: jcrunyonfoundation.org
