Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes, Blake Lively, Karen Elson, Eminem, Kate Middleton and Mike Nichols – these are just a few people who have spoken about their experiences of being victims of bullying at school, and the pain that it has caused them in childhood and later life.
Anyone who has been victimized as a child will understand the feelings of shame that these kinds of experiences can bring. And the consequences do not stop there.
According to Louise Arseneault, a professor of developmental psychology at King's College London in the UK "People used to think that bullying is a normal behavior, and in some instances, that it could even be a good thing – because it builds character,".
Researchers are testing new various anti-bullying schemes with some exciting new strategies to build a kinder and safer school environment.
Every adult in the school needs some basic training about bullying: the people who work in the cafeteria, the bus drivers, the custodian – Susan Limber
Inflamed mind, inflamed body
According to a recent paper in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, a woman who has been bullied as a child is 27 times more likely to have a panic disorder as a young adult. Among men, childhood bullying resulted in an 18-fold increase in suicidal ideation and action.
Bullying will also have protracted consequences for people's social lives: many victims find it harder to make friends in later life and are less likely to live with a long-term partner. One possibility is that they struggle to trust the people around them.
Arseneault's research suggests that the resulting stress can take a toll on the body for decades after the event, frequent bullying between the ages of seven and 11 was linked to markedly higher levels of inflammation at age 45. Elevated inflammation can disrupt the immune system and contributes to the wear and tear on our organs that leads to conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Safety nets
The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is one of the most widely tested schemes. It was developed by the late Swedish-Norwegian psychologist, Dan Olweus. The program is based on the idea that individual cases of bullying are often the product of a wider culture that tolerates victimization. As a result, it attempts to tackle the entire school ecosystem so that bad behavior can no longer flourish.
"Every adult in the school needs some basic training about bullying – the people who work in the cafeteria, the bus drivers, the custodian," says Limber.
The Olweus Program encourages the school to set out very clear expectations for acceptable behavior – and the consequences if they breach those rules.
They should also learn to recognize the locations within the school where bullying is most likely to occur and to supervise them regularly.
At the level of the classroom, the children themselves hold meetings to discuss the nature of bullying – and the ways that they can help students who are the victims of bad behavior. The aim, in all of this, is to ensure that the anti-bullying message is engrained in the institution's culture.
Sharing is caring
Bullying does not just end in school, of course, and Limber argues that parents and caregivers should be on the lookout for signs of a problem. "You should be proactive in talking about the subject – don't wait for it to come up," she says. "You can have it as part of a conversation to check in. You know, 'How are things going with your friends? Do you have any troubles?'."
Growing up is rarely going to be easy: children and adolescents are learning to navigate social relationships and that is going to come with hurt and upset. But as adults, we can do a much better job of teaching children that certain kinds of behaviors are never acceptable: there is no one to blame but the bullies themselves. Such lessons could have a widespread impact on the health and happiness of many generations to come.