Bullying Often Results From Domestic Violence, Says CDC

While bullies and their victims traffic in threats, taunts and fights in the schoolyard, a report on Thursday showed those on both sides are also more likely to live with violence at home.

Violent family encounters were most common among youth who identified as someone who has both bullied and been victimized, the report said.

The association was among findings from a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which along with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health analyzed data from middle and high school students across the state.

Massachusetts has been at the forefront of the bullying debate since the widely reported suicides of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley last year and 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover of Springfield in 2009.

The state passed anti-bullying legislation in May 2010 which prohibits bullying in school and online, and mandates school-developed bullying prevention and intervention plans.

The CDC analysis, published online in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for April 22, confirmed some well-documented associations with bullying -- an increased likelihood of suicide, substance abuse or poor grades.

But using the Massachusetts data, the CDC also found bullies and their victims reported being physically hurt by a family member or witnessing violence at home significantly more often than people who said they had not been bullied.

CDC's report established a link between bullying and events outside school.

"A comprehensive approach that encompasses school officials, students and their families is needed to prevent bullying among middle school and high school students," the CDC researchers said.

The report, which CDC said was the first state-specific analysis of risk factors and bullying, also noted that significant numbers of bullies and bully-victims said they had recently used alcohol or drugs.

SOURCE: 1.usa.gov/dPyQYv MMWR 2011.

By Lauren Keiper

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[iLdoRight]

10:48 PM on 05/02/2011

Some say "Experience is the best teacher", but that is often not true for it can be a very cruel unforgiving teacher that can scar one for life. My "saving grace" was starting to look into the Bible at an early age and realizing what Our Creator wanted people to be like and what He did not want them to be like. Many adults are mild bullies almost all the time, some are downright evil.

[Somerglesias]

10:51 PM on 06/18/2011

i find it disturbing that a lot of people need the bible to know the difference between right and wrong... shouldnt we know what is good and what is evil? and either way the bible says a lot of eveil things too like "u should kill anyone that works on sunday." and btw, i mean this with no disrespect

[susanpavlik]

08:53 AM on 04/26/2011

Thank you for shedding more light on this very important topic. Too many people underestimate the importance of bullying and the significant, lifelong impact it can have on kids. I especially like that you have tied it to family violence. Often in the family, "bad behavior" is modeled by others. When kids think it's OK to be mean, insulting and disrespectful, they will often follow what they have seen and heard. Particularly when it comes from some of their primary teachers, adult family members. the other side of the coin is, if kids are targeted at home for maltreatment, it may be easier for them to accept it from schoolmates. Since they are treated badly by loved ones, there must be something OK about it, or even true about it. In household violence we see the roots of people who are willing to act abusively to others, and the roots of those who will take it. www.susanpavlikwellnessservices.com