Impact of Childhood Bullying on Adult Mental Health, Adult Life and Relationships

Background and Purpose: A great deal is known about the impact and consequences of childhood bullying at the time it occurs. Much less is available in the research literature about enduring effects into adult life. Very little is known about the aftereffects of childhood bullying on adult mental health, adult development, adult relationships, or about the trauma that may still be experienced. This study was undertaken to explore these outcomes.

This paper helps to fill the gap by hearing the voices of and examining the retrospective accounts of adults who provide insight into the consequences on their mental health, in their adult peer relationships, and in their intimate adult relationships.

Methods: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 72 adults in this qualitative study. They ranged in age from 18 to 65; approximately 20% were minority participants and 79% were female. Participants were recruited at two large universities in the northeast. The data were transcribed verbatim, stored, and analyzed using NVivo 11. The data were sorted using open coding. Grounded theory was used to examine the qualitative data and to search for thematic responses. Following a grounded theory approach, the data were classified and categorized using a constant comparative strategy. Member checks and triangulation were employed to further substantiate credibility, authenticity, and coherence of the data. Categories were reduced as they moved to saturation. The delimited categories became the major themes seen in the findings.

Findings: The findings suggest that several aspects of adult life and well-being are altered by involvement in childhood bullying or by victimization at the hands of peers, siblings, parents, or educators. Participants suffered, often for a lifetime, with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem that they attributed to childhood bullying. Further, the findings indicate a percentage of participants are left with trauma. Data analysis revealed ongoing problems in adult relationships, adult decision-making, and of importance, for a percentage, findings substantiated some positive impacts. Trust and the ability for attachment in adult friendships and intimate relationships were significantly affected. Participants noted a range of poor decisions they believe they have made in adult life in response to their experiences with childhood bullying. Decisions affected aspects of their adult development and well-being. Most participants expressed a strong desire for others to understand the significant burden that children undergo and that they still face as adults.

Conclusion and Implications: Poor mental health outcomes are seen in adult life due to childhood bullying. Findings highlight the importance for social workers to be knowledgeable about long-term consequences of bullying exposure for their clients. Currently, it is rare for social workers to ask their clients about this ubiquitous childhood experience. When this is the case, clients may be dealing with aspects of trauma going unrecognized in their adult life, relationships, and decision-making. Having an understanding of these outcomes affecting adults both emphasizes the need for bullying prevention in childhood and helps social workers provide better service to all clients.