More action needs to be made to prevent bullying in schools
Children bullied throughout their early years are more likely to self harm later in life, according to a new study.
The research suggests that half of 12-year-olds who harm themselves were frequently bullied.
It also showed victimised children with mental health difficulties and those from troubled families were at greater risk of resorting to destructive behaviour which could have serious long-term effects in later life.
The study's authors are now calling for more effective programmes to prevent bullying in schools.
The research was carried out on just over 1,000 pairs of twins at five, seven, 10 and 12 years of age. It was conducted at King's College London, and showed that victimised children with mental health problems were at greater risk of self-harming in later life.
"Bullying by peers is a major problem during the early school years," the researchers said. "This study found that before 12 years of age a small proportion of children frequently exposed to this form of victimisation already deliberately harmed themselves and in some cases attempted to take their own lives. Frequent victimisation by peers increased the risk of self harm,"
The researchers hope this study will help to identify those at greatest risk of self-harm.
They found that several factors increased the risk of self-harm amongst children who were bullied, including: a family history of self-harming; maltreatment; behavioural and emotional problems.
And although the likelihood was slightly higher for girls (1.6 per cent), the association was evident amongst both sexes.
The researchers also raised fears over the long-term implications of bullying which, they said, could result in psychological issues, serious injury or death. "This study adds to the growing literature showing that bullying during the early years of school can have extremely detrimental consequences for some children by the time they reach adolescence," they wrote.
"This finding is even more concerning given that studies have suggested that early patterns of self harm can persist through adolescence into adulthood and increase the risk of later psychological problems. Therefore, such maladaptive coping strategies need to be tackled in childhood and early adolescence before they become a persistent problem or lead to serious injury or death."
The study is published in the British Medical Journal.
Tagged in Parenting children's health Anti Bullying