Health professionals have warned that children labelled as bullies should receive the same emotional and psychological support as those who are bullied.
Research presented to the American Academy of Pediatrics found that children diagnosed with mental health disorders were three times more likely to be identified as bullies.
While research has been conducted into how bullying affects the mental health of a victim, there hasn’t been a great deal of study into the effects on those who bully others.
A US study of children aged between six and 17 years found that, overall, children with mental health disorders were three times more likely to bully other children.
“There is a larger story behind why children bully,” says study author Dr Frances Turcotte-Benedict, a Brown University Masters of Public Health student and a Fellow at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.
“And part of that story may include the diagnosis of a mental health disorder.”
The study also found that children who had been diagnosed with depression were three times more likely to bully, while those with a diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), which involves frequent tantrums and revenge-seeking behaviour, were six times more likely to bully.
“These findings highlight the importance of providing psychological support not only to victims of bullying, but to bullies as well,” says Dr Turcotte-Benedict.
“In order to create successful anti-bullying prevention and intervention programs, there certainly is a need for more research to understand the relationship more thoroughl, and, especially, the risk profile of childhood bullies.”
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