Running header: BULLYING AND DEPRESSION

Bullying and Depression Melissa Bartholomew, Karla Hernandez, Megan Reichmann, Saul Reynoso, Holly Tyler EDU 2030, SLCC

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION Abstract Bullying is a pervasive problem in society today. Our research seeks to find the correlation between bullying and depression. We also sought to find what the effects were on daily life of adolescents. We extensively reviewed literature and studies on the subject in

addition to interviewing students who have had problems with bullies. Our study finds that there is a positive correlation between bullying and depression, much as we expected. The depression and effects of the bullying can extend into adulthood. Depression from bullying affects students by lowering enjoyment and motivation. Efforts should be made to curb bullying and treat the depression that results thereof.

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION As former teenagers, we have all encountered the issue of bullying at some point in our lives. Bullying is a troublesome part of adolescence with potentially grand effects. The evening news is riddled with stories of children and teens who were bullied relentlessly and went to the extreme of committing suicide as a means of escaping the torment. These cases amount to the most severe consequences of a person being bullied. Many effects of bullying can go unseen because they end up being internalized.

Our research focuses on the correlation between being bullied and depression in students between the seventh and twelfth grades. We hypothesize that an increase in the incidence of bullying correlates with an increase in depression. We also are taking a deeper look into how bullying can affect students daily lives. Through this understanding, approaches can be made in how to specifically treat depression as a result of being bullied. In reviewing articles for our research, we found about 30% of adolescents experience bullying in school. Among these victims, males are more prone to experience or take part in physical bullying while females are more prone to be involved in verbal bullying such as rumors, sexual comments or taunting (Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Morton, Scheidt, 2001). To help identify the types of bullying we also reviewed a study that done to find the emotional differences amongst the different types of bullies, such as physical bullying, verbal bullying, social exclusion, spreading rumors, and cyber bullying behaviors. Random districts were chosen to participate. The results were overall, the All-Types Bullies were at highest risk of using substances and carrying weapons, the Non-Involved were at lowest risk, and the Verbal/Social Bullies were in the middle. Results also suggest that most cyber bullies belong to a group of highly aggressive adolescents who conduct all types of bullying (Batsche & Knoff, 1994).

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION The website of the National Institute of Mental Health also has an excellent website that

defines the components of depression. The article also reviews information specifically related to depression in adolescents, which is essential to our research (National Institute of Mental Health, 2012). Another article regards research done in a school in Australia where they observed grades 8 and 9. A survey was done on how students felt about being bullied or being the bully. The objective was to establish if the bullying was recurring bullying and whether the bullying caused anxiety and/or depression (Bond, Carlin, Rubin & Patton, 2001). There is also a study by Copeland, Wolke, Angold, & Costello (2013) which reviewed the long-term effects of bullying. The fact that bullying may affect people well into adulthood makes it an important topic to explore. A similar article also reviews the long-term effects of bullying. The study established how bullying hurts people even into adulthood and that it is something important to handle when people are younger because it has an effect even as adults. This study identified depression as a mental health disorder associated with being bullied (Napolitano, 2008). Another article is about a study done on students between sixteen to eighteen years old in Greece. The study was done in about three phases. A mass survey was given to all students. Then a random sample of about half of the initial students was interviewed in a method called a CIS-R. From these interviews, it was found that victims of bullying behavior were more likely to have suicidal thoughts and desires (Skapinakis, Bellos, Gkatsa, Magklara, Lewis, Araya, Styliandis & Mavreas, 2011).

Method

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION We used the explanatory method of research. Primarily, we extensively reviewed and studied articles which have already been published. Through the established research, we were able to discern a general idea of what original research may show. We sought articles mainly by searching internet databases using key words. We then searched through the studies to find information pertinent to our topic. We also approached the research by doing some original interviews of our own. The interviews were of current students in middle school and high school. The interviews included

questions about the types of groups at their school, whether the student ever felt bullied, how that made them feel and the effect the bullying had on their lives. These interviews were conducted in person and the answers were recorded on paper. Each person interviewed did so on a voluntary basis following an explanation of the purpose of the interview. The definition and symptoms of depression from the National Institute of Mental Health was used as a means to gauge whether students had symptoms of depression following being bullied. Results The studies we reviewed revealed that bullying could indeed lead to depression in adolescents. One two-year study showed that a history of victimization could predict the onset of emotional problems in young people, including the onset of depression (Bond, Carlin, Rubin & Patton, 2001). Other various articles reiterated these findings (Brunstein, Marrocco, Kleinman, Schonfeld, & Gould, 2007) (Seals & Young, 2003). Depression is a common effect of being bullied. Studies have also indicated that being bullied as a child may lead to depression in adulthood. One particular study found that those who either bullied or were victims of being

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION bullied suffered from depression, among other psychiatric problems, as adults. This shows that bullying and the effects thereof are not isolated to just adolescence. The effects can carry on for many years to come (Copeland, Wolke, Angold & Costello, 2013).

In our interviews, there were four individuals who had signs of being bullied or have seen others being bullied. The individuals were able to establish which social groups were more or less likely to be bullied and stayed consistent throughout all four that were surveyed. All individuals felt as if they had been victimized at one point or another, and most of them didnt tell parents, but said that their parents noticed eventually. Many confided that they would isolate themselves when they became particularly distressed about being bullied. They also explained that they felt a lack of interest in doing the things they normally enjoy. Some students felt the need to bury themselves in their homework as a coping method. Conclusion Our hypothesis is: Is there a correlation between bullying and depression? If so, how does that affect the students schoolwork and personal life? We have read many articles and journals, and also interviewed a few high school students researching whether this hypothesis is actually true. After doing this research we have come to the conclusion that there is a correlation between bullying and depression, and that it also affects their school work and personal life. The baseline data that we acquired from the research of articles and interviews brought us all to the conclusion that bullying can lead to depression. Along with that statement however, it is not inevitable that a victim of bullying will become depressed. The results of bullying are that the victims most often feel hopeless, worthless, and without motivation toward improvement, however victims dont always fall into this spiral.

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION In an article, titled Does Bullying Cause Emotional Problems? A Prospective Study of Young Teenagers, it describes a study where there were 2,680 students that were studied and observed for over two years. At the conclusion of this study, the researchers came to the conclusion that continued victimization over a period of time resulted that depression and anxiety were present especially for girls (Bond, Carlin, Thomas, Rubin & Patton, 2001). Another study entitled, The Association Between bullying and the Early Stages of Suicidal Ideation in Late Adolescents in Greece, it involved 25 different high schools which added up to 5,614 students. At the end to the study it was found that, victims of bullying behavior were more likely to express suicidal ideation (Skapinakis, Bellos, Gkatsa, Magklara, Lewis, Araya,

Styliandis & Mavreas, 2011). These are only a couple of articles out of many more that state the very same thing. Therefore, we believe that our hypothesis is true. Bullying amongst any age is very serious and should be controlled if not completely stopped. This is why not only should it be continued to be studied, but also to try to find ways in which the bullying rate can be lowered. This might be through inspiring others to stand up to bullies, or more motivated to accept others just the way they are. Bullying will most likely always be present, but if there is any way that it can happen less, it will affect millions of lives. Further effort should be made to curb the bullying problem, which has become so prominent in our society. Additionally, efforts need to be made to help treat the depression that is obviously a result of bullying.

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION References Barker, E. D., Arseneault, L., Brendgen, M., Fontaine, N., & Maughan, B. (2008). Joint development of bullying and victimization in adolescence: Relations to delinquency and self-harm. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47(9), 1030-1038 Batsche, G. M., & Knoff, H. M. (1994). Bullies and their victims: Understanding a Pervasive Problem in the Schools. School psychology review, 23, 165-165. Bond, L., Carlin, J. B., Thomas, L., Rubin, K., & Patton, G. (2001). Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers. Bmj, 323(7311), 480-484. Brunstein Klomek, A., Marrocco, F., Kleinman, M., Schonfeld, I. S., & Gould, M. S. (2007).

Bullying, depression, and suicidality in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(1), 40-49. Copeland, W.E., Wolke, D., Angold, A., & Costello, E.J. (2013). Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23426798 Nansel, T., Overpek, M., Pilla, R., Ruan, J., Simons-Morton, B., Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behabiors among US youth: Prevalance and association with pychosocial adjustment. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2435211/#__ffn_sectitle Napolitano, S. (2008). Bullying and depression. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/edpsychpapers/134/

BULLYING AND DEPRESSION National Institute of Mental Health. (2012). Depression and high school students. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-and-high-schoolstudents/index.shtml Seals, D., & Young, J. (2003). Bullying and Victimization: Prevalence and Relationship to Gender, Grade Level, Ethnicity, Self-Esteem, and Depression. Adolescence, 38(152), 735-747.

Skapinakis, P., Bellos, S., Gkatsa, T., Magklara, K., Lewis, G., Araya, R., & Mavreas, V. (2011). The association between bullying and early stages of suicidal ideation in late adolescents in Greece. BMC psychiatry, 11(1), 22.