Bullying Doubles Risk for Psychosomatic Ills in Kids

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Quote:

Bullying Doubles Risk for Psychosomatic Ills in Kids

Janis Kelly

Medscape Medical News 2009. © 2009 Medscape

March 18, 2009 — School-age bullying is a public-health menace, with bullies and victims all winding up at increased risk for psychosomatic disorders, according to a new meta-analysis.

Bullying (intentionally harming another through verbal harassment, physical assault, or other methods of coercion) leads to significantly higher risk for psychosomatic problems for victims, bullies, and bully-victims (children who are both aggressive to peers and victimized by peers), compared with uninvolved peers. This conclusion was based on a meta-analysis of 11 studies and reported in the March issue of Pediatrics by Gianluca Gini, PhD, and Tiziana Pozzoli, MA, from the University of Padua, in Italy.

"In this meta-analysis, analyzing the results on more than 150,000 children and adolescents (aged 7 to 16 years) from several countries around the world, we found that students most frequently involved in bullying, especially as victims and bully-victims, are 2 times more likely to show a variety of psychosomatic problems than their uninvolved schoolmates," Dr. Gini told Medscape Psychiatry.

The authors performed 3 random-effects meta-analyses for children aged between 7 and 16 years who reported being victims, bullies, or bully-victims, the last of which Dr. Gini said are sometimes called provocative victims and are frequently characterized by conduct problems and hyperactivity.

They are a particularly problematic subgroup, since they tend to experience maladjustment in multiple domains of functioning and are at greatest risk for major aggressive behavior toward their peers, for injury, and for psychiatric disorders.

Psychosomatic complaints included headache, stomachache, backache, abdominal pain, dizziness, sleeping problems, poor appetite, bedwetting, skin problems, vomiting, feeling tired, or feeling tense.

International Public Health Issue

Dr. Gini noted that somatic problems affect 5% to 30% of children and adolescents and that organic reasons do not explain the frequent and persistent occurrence of these symptoms in the pediatric population.

"The current results suggest that 1 possible cause of such recurrent problems, especially during childhood and early adolescence, is bullying, which is a considerable source of stress in a child’s life," he said.

The researchers call bullying "a significant international public-health issue" and urge professionals to question children and their parents about emotional functioning and peer experiences.

Karen Weihs, MD, from the University of Arizona Medical Center, in Tucson, agreed that the study shows convincingly that children who report being bullied also report more symptoms.

However, Dr. Weihs is more cautious than the authors about what conclusions to draw from that association.

''The term psychosomatic makes the assumption that the bullying caused the somatic complaints of these children — even though the data do not support this conclusion. It would be more appropriate to describe these symptoms as somatic complaints or somatic symptoms, until the causal association is demonstrated in prospective studies," Dr. Weihs told Medscape Psychiatry.

"It is likely that bullying has adverse health effects that are physiologically compromising to children, such as elevated stress hormones and the associated increase in risk of hypertension and heart disease," Dr. Weihs added. "This should also be mentioned as a needed area for future research."

Meanwhile, she agrees with Dr. Gini that children with apparently psychosomatic symptoms should be questioned about bullying, "If bullying is present, an intervention to stop the child from being victimized should be undertaken," Dr. Weihs said.

The authors report no disclosures.

Pediatrics 2009;123:1059-1065.

journal article source

[Gail]

Thanks, Pam, for posting this. I've known one boy who had exactly these symptoms. The parents discovered he was being bullied and changed schools for him. He's fine now. The bully in question has been tested and shown to have problems, social and learning, attention deficit, etc.

Young age mental illness... All we want for our children is to be happy, but for so many it doesn't happen.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I think a lot of children are afraid to let their parents know about being bullied. They think the parents will tell them to just *take it* and *let it slide off your back.* It isn't that easy for so many kids. They get ridiculed if they are too *sensitive*....

[GreatLakesGramma]

My mom always said to ignore them and they'd quit. It never worked.

[Liz]

I too was told to always "ignore" them, or "turn the other cheek" by my mom. My dad said if that didn't work to deck them good and hard and lay'em out, 'cause they would never bother me again. Dad was right....

[GreatLakesGramma]

Nobody ever told me to try that. Although I once did beat up 2 of the guys (at once) of the group that caught me on the playground and held me down and choked me for the rest of recess time. None of that group ever came near me again.

[Gail]

They tend to pick on those who are smaller or weaker, don't they?

That is so far from God's kingdom and His way of doing things!

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

The one time I tried to let a teacher know I was being bullied she told me to be quiet and stop crying (I was in 2nd grade). I never said anything to anyone after that. Children can be so mean.

[Gail]

Yes, they can. Cruel, to be exact. I was not exempt. It is at times like these that a mentor can be so valuable!

[Cosmin M.]

I say it is cr__ (Probably cause of my communist blood. In Romania you got bullied and into fights and guess what? Nothing happened.) Also, I say American children are too sensitive and have to many luxuries. I mean, come on, what do you think id going to happen when the end of time is near and God comes? Americans (And everybody else) won't be living in luxuries anymore. I have more to say but my brain is overloading with the much information I could add on here.....

[Outta Here]

Much yet to be learned.

[Neil D]

[wondering thru on his "get lost" pilgramage....]

Each area has a different way of bullying...and each child reacts differently...

[Liz]

This is very true, and also, what we went through as kids, is probably nothing what kids go through today.

My neice is a school teacher for inner city kids, and this was the first year she taught. The stories she told about what they do to each other were absolutely horrible, and it was bad enough that she was actually reconsidering her decision to teach.

[GreatLakesGramma]

I know, back when I was 10, with shows on TV like Leave It to Beaver and Andy Griffith, it was bad enough being choked during recess, but with the stuff on TV today, I'm sure they would have done much worse.

[Outta Here]

I can recall a fist-fight or two back in the late 70s. All because a certain group of boys in the 5th grade kept stealing our four-square ball. When I finally knocked one of the boys out with a punch straight to the nose, our game was never interrupted again.

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Where were the teachers when you performed your act of bravery?? LOL

[Outta Here]

They were there on the playground. Didn't get to us until I'd thrown that punch though. Then it was off to the principal's office. Oddly enough, my parents were never informed of my misadventures. At least, that's what they tell me.

[Woody]

The one time I tried to let a teacher know I was being bullied she told me to be quiet and stop crying (I was in 2nd grade). I never said anything to anyone after that. Children can be so mean.

And some children never grow up ... they keep beating up on adults when they become 'adults'.

[Stan]

Wonder if there is anyone that has not been a victim of that.. I had more problems with one of my elementary teachers than I did with classmates on year..