More than half of bullied children become depressed as adults, survey shows

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'character-building', Bullying, Children, Cyberbullying, Depression, rite of passage, self-harm, suicidal

More than half of bullied children become depressed as adults, survey shows

55 per cent of children who have been bullied develop depression – with more than one in three becoming suicidal or self-harming as a result, according to a Europe-wide poll released today.

Yet despite the scale of suffering, one in three adults view bullying as a routine rite of passage, and 16 per cent describe it as “character-building”.

The shocking statistics have provoked calls for urgent action, with more than 100,000 people joining a campaign by the BeatBullying charity calling on the European Commission to introduce new laws to protect children from bullying and cyberbullying.

This comes after an inquest in May heard how a British teenager walked into the sea to drown after suffering cyberbullying over Facebook.

Callum Moody-Chapman, 17, from Cumbria, had been sent online threats by a former friend who was going out with his ex-girlfriend. The 17-year-old boy threatened to beat him, set fire to his home and encourage friends “to stamp on your head”. A verdict of suicide into the youngster’s death last December was recorded by the coroner, who cited the abusive messages as “by far the most significant aspect of this case”.

Attitudes need to change if such tragedies are to be prevented, according to campaigners.

Emma-Jane Cross, chief executive of BeatBullying, said: “Far too many European citizens still see bullying as ‘part of growing up’ and don’t take it seriously. This is pushing young people to the brink with some even resorting to harming themselves in order to cope.”

She added: “How many more children have to tragically lose their lives before these outdated perceptions change? Today more than 100,000 children, families, schools and charitable organisations are sending the European Commission a clear message that enough is enough. We urge them to listen.”

And Sarah Crown, editor of Mumsnet, one of the organisations backing the protest, commented: “These figures demonstrate once again why bullying ought not to be treated as ‘part and parcel’ of growing up. It’s a serious matter that can result in severe consequences for the victim.”

Little Mix, Amanda Holden, JLS singer Aston Merrygold, and reality TV star Jamie Laing from Made in Chelsea are among the names supporting the campaign. Leigh Anne of Little Mix said: “Myself and the girls have all experienced being bullied at some point in our life, when we see on Twitter that some of our fans are going through it now we find it so upsetting, and that’s the reason we feel so passionate about this campaign.”

And the effects on victims can be long-lasting. For childhood bullying can continue to damage mental and physical health for decades afterwards, causing higher rates of depression, ill health and unemployment in adult life, according to a study by researchers from Kings College London published earlier this year.

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When the Bully Is a Sibling

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abuse, aggression, anxiety, Bullying, Children, Depression, family, Self-esteem, siblings, young people

When the Bully Is a Sibling

Siblings have been bickering and trading blows since the time of Cain and Abel. But the torment and fighting that is often shrugged off as normal sibling rivalry may not always be so benign.

New research suggests that even when there are no physical scars, aggression between siblings can inflict psychological wounds as damaging as the anguish caused by bullies at school or on the playground. The findings offer an unusual look at an area of family life that has rarely been studied, in part because infighting among brothers and sisters is widely considered a harmless rite of passage.

But ordinary skirmishes over the remote or joystick are one thing, experts say, and chronic physical and verbal abuse, particularly when it is directed at one sibling, is another. The new study, which involved thousands of children and adolescents around the country, found that those who were attacked, threatened or intimidated by a sibling had increased levels of depression, anger and anxiety.

Corinna Jenkins Tucker, the lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, said that behaviors among siblings that cross the line into abuse deserve more recognition.

“Historically, the general thinking has been that it’s not a big deal, and sometimes it’s even viewed as being a good thing,” said Dr. Tucker, an associate professor of family studies at the University of New Hampshire. “There appears to be different norms of acceptability. Peer aggression is unacceptable, but it’s not the same for siblings.”

Dr. Tucker said that the growing number of programs and public service announcements aimed at stopping bullying and violence in schools and other settings should include a focus on sibling relationships as well.

“The aggression among siblings should be taken just as seriously as that among peers,” she said.

While normal rivalries with siblings can encourage healthy competition, the line between healthy relations and abuse is crossed when one child is consistently the victim of another and the aggression is intended to cause harm and humiliation, said John V. Caffaro, a clinical psychologist and the author of “Sibling Abuse Trauma.” Parents who fail to intervene, play favorites or give their children labels that sow divisions — like “the smart one” and “the athlete” — can inadvertently encourage conflict.

Nationwide, sibling violence is by far the most common form of family violence, occurring four to five times as frequently as spousal or parental child abuse, Dr. Caffaro said. According to some studies, nearly half of all children have been punched, kicked or bitten by a sibling, and roughly 15 percent have been repeatedly attacked. But even the most severe incidents are underreported because families are loath to acknowledge them, dismissing slaps and punches as horseplay and bullying as boys just being boys, he said.

“Our society tends to minimize child-on-child violence in general,” he added. “We have these ideas that if you’re hurt by a child it’s less injurious than if you’re hurt by an adult, but the data don’t support that.”

In the new report, Dr. Tucker and her colleagues studied 3,600 children using data from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, which collects information on children and teenagers under 17. Previous studies of sibling violence, which are few in number, have typically been small or narrowly focused on specific forms of aggression.

But the new research, conducted through interviews with children and their parents, measured the impact of a broad range of violence. It looked at physical assaults with and without weapons and the destruction or stealing of property, as well as threats, name-calling and other forms of psychological intimidation.

The researchers also measured the same types of behaviors perpetrated by peers outside the home and accounted for them in their findings in order to tease apart the specific toll of sibling violence.

Over all, a third of the children in the study reported being victimized by a brother or sister in the previous year, and their scores were higher on measures of anxiety, depression and anger.

Catherine Bradshaw, an expert on bullying and the deputy director of the Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence at Johns Hopkins University, said the study was impressive in its scope and scale, and noted that it showed that all types of sibling aggression, from mild to severe, were associated with worse mental health.

“Parents at times might be thinking that their kids can fight it out or that a little bit of victimization might not be so bad,” she said. “But these findings suggest that the threshold is pretty low. It’s not just the rough stuff you have to keep an eye out for.”

Dr. Caffaro said that the effects of sibling abuse often continue into adulthood. Over the years he has treated patients who struggled with emotional issues and sabotaged themselves in their careers because of repeated humiliation they experienced at the hands of a brother or sister.

“It can erode their sense of identity and their self-esteem,” he said.

Cyber bullying: ‘He told me he was a footballer. I wasn’t to know I was a victim

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Bullying, Children, Cyberbullying, Depression, mental health issues, risks, self-harm, sexual bullying, social networks, suicidal, young people

Cyber bullying: ‘He told me he was a footballer. I wasn’t to know I was a victim

When 15-year-old schoolgirl Lain Lerouge was contacted through Facebook by a professional footballer, she was not star-struck in the least. The player, who starred for a Football League club, was already friends on the social networking website with mutual acquaintances and she assumed that was how he came to first contact her. After their initial internet meeting, she and the 19-year-old player developed a closer relationship, chatting every day via their accounts and even talking regularly on the phone.

Lain, from Birmingham, said: “We just had normal, friendly chats. He would ask: what are you studying? Where are you from?”

Even when her online friend declared his love for her and asked her to send naked pictures of herself, she had no reason to doubt his identity. “I refused but then we’d talk on the phone. There was no question that it was a guy from London. His Facebook was flooded with girls, but I just thought he’s a footballer that’s totally normal. I know that I never met him and didn’t really know him, but if you chat to someone a lot you sort of feel like you know them. He seemed so normal,” she said.

The suspicion that she had been deceived came only when she received his telephone call and the number came up with Birmingham dialling code rather than a London one. This rang immediate alarm bells, and after some detective work Lain eventually traced the Facebook account to an older girl who went to the same school as she did.

It quickly emerged the student, who was in the year above, had set up a fake profile with pictures she had secretly downloaded from the account of a very real professional player. For her part, Lain said she simply felt embarrassed when she discovered she had been duped. “I never did get to the bottom of what motivated the hoax, but I was just so thankful that it wasn’t an old man.”

Lain’s bizarre experience is by no means an isolated case. Campaigners warn that growing numbers of children and teenagers are being bullied or even lured into sexual exchanges through bogus online profiles. Some young people are becoming depressed, even suicidal after falling victim, according to a survey by the charity Beatbullying.

Richard Piggin, deputy chief executive of Beatbullying, said: “Young people have told us about this alarming trend of fake profiles being used on social networking platforms to cyber bully and to engage in sexual bullying. The psychological impact of this form of bullying can be hugely distressing for many young people, with tragic and terrible consequences.” In a survey carried out by the anti-bullying charity, it discovered that nearly one-third of the 500 young people questioned say they have had a fake profile made about them on a social networking site. A further 65 per cent said they knew someone else who had been impersonated through a phoney account.

Beatbullying said the poll also showed that high numbers of the under-18s questioned had developed serious mental health issues after being targeted. Nearly one in 10 said they became depressed; 4 per cent developed an eating disorder; 7 per cent had suicidal feelings and the same number self-harmed. Another 13 per cent reported feeling afraid.

The extent of fake profiles on Facebook was revealed in the firm’s own financial records last August, which showed the site had 83 million fake profiles. But a Facebook spokesman stressed that the majority of these accounts had no malicious intent and were pages set up for businesses, pets or small children. He added that unlike with many other social networking sites, fake profiles can be reported directly to Facebook, which will then remove them. The spokesman stressed that the company acted swiftly on such reports. “Everyone on Facebook has access to simple tools to block and report people who make them uncomfortable.”

Mr Piggin added: “What social networking sites like Facebook need to do is work with organisations like us. They’re experts in technology, but they’re not experts in bullying and sexual bullying.”

Tony Neate, chief executive of the partly government-funded Get Safe Online, said: “Social networks are a great place for young people to talk to their friends, share photographs and play games – but children and parents must be educated on the risks that are around.”

Facebook Is The Worst Social Networking Site For Bullying, New Report Says

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abuse, Bebo, Blackberry Messenger, Bullying, Cyberbullying, Depression, Facebook, harassment, internet, self-harm, social networking sites, Teens, trolling, Whatsapp, young people

Facebook Is The Worst Social Networking Site For Bullying, New Report Says

Facebook is the worst social networking site for internet trolling, and bullying is now more prevalent online than anywhere else, a study has suggested.

Some 87% of teenagers who reported cyber abuse said they were targeted on Mark Zuckerberg’s site, while around one-fifth of youngsters were picked on by Twitter trolls, the report showed.

Those most frequently victimised were 19-year-old boys.

According to the report, 49% of those targeted by bullies were victimised off-line, while 65% of teenagers were subjected to abuse in cyberspace.

Only 37% of those who had experienced trolling ever reported it to the social network where it took place, the report found.

Emma-Jane Cross, CEO and founder of the charity BeatBullying, said many young people were suffering in silence.

“Bullying both on and off-line continues to be a serious problem for a huge number of teenagers and we cannot ignore its often devastating and tragic effects,” she said.

“We work with hundreds of young people being cyber-bullied or trolled so badly that it can lead to depression, truancy, self-harm, or even force them to contemplate or attempt suicide.”

The study, for internet site knowthenet.org.uk, found a number of social networking sites had become “popular forums” for trolls.

Some 13% of the 13 to 19-year-olds consulted claimed they were targeted on BlackBerry Messenger, 8% said they were picked on by trolls on Bebo and 4% said they were victimised on Whatsapp.

Fewer than one in five (17%) teens said their first reaction would be to tell a parent and only 1% of those surveyed said their initial response would be to inform a teacher.

Around 34% of those who were picked on by trolls said their experiences lasted more than a month.

Knowthenet, which released the study, has now launched a “trolling hub” offering advice on how to deal with online bullying.

Opinium Research consulted more than 2,000 teenagers for the study.

A Facebook spokesman said: “There is no place for harassment on Facebook, but unfortunately a small minority of malicious individuals exist online, just as they do offline.

“We have a real name policy and provide people with simple tools to block people or report content which they find threatening so that we can remove it quickly.”

Links to report concerning behaviour on Facebook exist on every page of the site meaning users can report any piece of content.

Military staff fear redundancy if they complain about bullying, says report

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abuse, armed forces, Bullying, complaints, harassment, Military, redundancy

Military staff fear redundancy if they complain about bullying, says report

Military personnel have been deterred from making complaints about bullying and victimisation within the armed forces because of fears they will be put in the frontline for redundancy, a report warns today.

The problem is another reason why the system for investigating harassment and other abuses should be overhauled and scrutinised by a new Armed Forces Ombudsman working outside the military chain of command, say MPs on the defence select committee.

Their report said the current procedures led to backlogs and concern that many soldiers, sailors and pilots have been too nervous to raise complaints against senior officers because of what it might do to their careers.

MPs were told the heads of the army, air force and navy did not understand the role of an ombudsman, but “were sure they didn’t want one” – a position that showed discussions about the proposal “had not been as productive as they should have been.”

At the moment, complaints are overseen by a Services Complaints Commissioner, but the office does not have enough resources, and there are backlogs of cases, particularly in the army and the RAF.

Though the number of anonymous ‘contacts’ the commissioner has received about bullying and harassment has increased for the last three years, the number of actual cases investigated remains low.

The processes remain unnecessarily complex and drawn out, the report says.

Many claims have not been pursued because the alleged victim “did not have confidence to pursue this matter through the chain of command”, the report suggests.

MPs say the Ministry of Defence must urgently commission research into why people are being deterred. It must also instigate a study into the level of sexual offences within the armed forces.

“Without accurate figures, the MoD is unaware of how severe a problem it is dealing with in relation to sexual offences within the armed forces.”

The report adds: “We are concerned that the commissioner and others are reporting that fears of redundancy among service personnel appear to be deterring them from making service complaints. It is unacceptable that personnel who believe they have a genuine grievance in relation to redundancy or any other matter are reluctant to seek redress or resolution because they fear the consequences of making a complaint.

“As a matter of urgency the MoD and the commissioner should investigate this matter.”

James Arbuthnot, Tory chair of the committee, said he remained disappointed the MoD remained opposed to the appointment of an ombudsman with beefed up powers and oversight.

“There are too many reports of service personnel being reluctant to raise genuine complaints and grievances. We are also concerned that complaints are not being raised when they implicate individuals above the complainant within the chain of command.

“The government should change the role of the commissioner to one of an Armed Forces Ombudsman. Our servicemen and servicewomen deserve a complaints system that is as good as it can be. Not to provide this would be a failure of the nation’s duty to them.”

Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Young, chairman of the British Armed Forces Federation, said: “We have said for more than four years that an Armed Forces Ombudsman should be appointed in order to provide a complaints system that service personnel can trust and we are pleased that the House of Commons defence committee now agrees with us.

“It is clear to us that the current system fails to adequately protect the interests of those who make complaints as well as those who are complained about, and we will continue to campaign to change it.”

Children With Cancer ‘Bullied When They Return To School’ Charity Says

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Bullying, Cancer, Children, support, symptoms, treatment

Children With Cancer ‘Bullied When They Return To School’ Charity Says

One in three children with cancer were bullied for their symptoms, such as losing their hair, when they went back to school, according to a children’s cancer charity.

CLIC Sargent reported more than a third of parents they surveyed said their children had been bullied for the effect of cancer, such as gaining weight from steroids. One child was even told by their classmates he was going to die.

The report, No Child With Cancer Left Out, revealed as many as 36% of parents said they did not believe their children received the help needed to keep up with school, while more than a third said they did not have any say in how their child’s illness was communicated.

The survey revealed two thirds, or 62%, of parents felt their children needed home tuition to help get them back to school.

The report, published to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, found that almost half of parents said their child had grown apart from their friends.

Josh Hill, 13, from Cheshire was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when he was five years old, he was bullied when he returned to school and found it “emotionally difficult.”

His mother Lynda said after missing half of year one of his primary school, and bits of his second year, he was often “really isolated.”

“He didn’t like joining in with things with his friends and always wanted to be around me. I would take him to friends parties or activities. He didn’t want to go, but I wanted to take him to help him keep connected to his peers.

“He was really frightened and getting him there was difficult, even though he knew the children, but once he was there, he was OK.” they said.

Oliver Roberts, from Newcastle, 7, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2010. His Mum, oncology nurse Karen and Dad, oncologist Mark, said he missed two years of school due to his illness. One effect of his treatment is he now has learning disabilities.

“Because childhood cancer is so rare people are less aware of the lasting effects, which makes it harder to access extra support services too,” they said. “The first thing was getting him through treatment, but now a year later, we’re thinking ‘oh my goodness’ because there are so many lasting impacts.

“He really needs individual support; he needs someone that knows how to teach Oli because his case is so complex. Teachers simply cannot teach a class of 30 children, including a child like Oli who has such specific needs. He doesn’t just have educational needs either, he has physical needs.

“Children at Oli’s age need to be caught early, or else you end up with a child who is going to be very disadvantaged in secondary school. I know that he can learn, but it’s not without a lot of effort and special help.”

CLIC Sargent’s chief executive Lorraine Clifton said the reports of children being teased and bullied were distressing.

“Sometimes parents, already struggling to cope with their child’s diagnosis, have to fight to get the help their child needs – and they can feel really let down by the system,” she said.

“Funding can be an issue, so we are calling on government and local authorities to ensure children with cancer do not lose out on the home tuition they need because of any more funding pressures in the future.”

The growing problem of cyber-bullying

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abuse, Children, Cyberbullying, parents, school, social media, suicide, Teens

The growing problem of cyber-bullying

Although it’s been around for as long as I can remember, I appreciate that for most adults cyber-bullying is quite a new phenomenon. And I don’t quite think they’ve yet grasped how to treat it. Unlike other forms of bullying, its effects often aren’t seen until it gets completely out of hand, and sometimes when it is too late.

According to the cyber bullying charity the Cybersmile Foundation, every 20 minutes a child between 10 to 19 years of age attempts to commit suicide in England and Wales. While one in three children in the UK suffers from cyber-bullying.

However, apart from the occasional scandalous news story such as the recent suicide of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd, most of it is never brought to light. So what’s really going on?

In my experience, most cases of cyber-bullying incidents aren’t, thankfully, as bad as Amanda Todd’s story. They usually comprise of arguments on Facebook that turn into popularity contests. Someone will spark off the conflict with a claim or rude post on the other person’s wall or photo and it will lead to a string of abusive and sarcastic messages. The rules of the battle are to remain nonchalant throughout and the winner is decided by whose comments received the most “likes”.

It then becomes almost a spectacle with everyone watching the fight unfold and messaging each other on who they think is faring the best. The bravest friends stick up for their comrade with their own comments and those less willing to get involved will simply join the mass of likes. This goes on until the receiver or the poster of the original message has enough sense to delete it and the fight continues in private.

Unfortunately, not all cases are so harmless and some can lead to serious emotional damage. A friend of a friend was a recent target when girls in her year created a Blackberry messenger group about her. It was comprised of over 20 people messaging each other about how they should kill the “slag”, supposedly because she was going out with an older boy. They then added her to the conversation and she wasn’t seen at school for two weeks. A close friend of mine was also a recent victim of abusive texts after false accusations arose around her having cheated with somebody’s boyfriend. “I felt so isolated and exposed,” she told me, “There was nowhere I could turn where they couldn’t get to me”.

There are also instances of malicious public statuses, embarrassing pictures being sent round and abusive questions on sites such as Formspring, a medium on which anonymous questions can be posted to specific people. Teens hiding behind their anonymous identity can post extremely hurtful things, which they would never say in real-life, but which they feel are acceptable in cyber space. Those who don’t answer are often accused of being cowardly and as a result receive even more “hate”.

Over 80 per cent of children fear that cyber-bullying is getting worse. Due to the growth of social media, every move you make on sites such as Facebook and Twitter is watched and regulated. Just a slight slip such as an “uncool status” or adding somebody as a friend, who you supposedly don’t know well enough, leaves the perfect opportunity for bullies to strike.

Victims of cyber bullying are always told they should seek help from school but they can often be just as confused as the perpetrators themselves. Although it is the wrong thing to do, many teenagers believe that their only chance of survival in the social media jungle of bullying is to fight back with equally as harsh and hurtful comments. This just leads to more tension and leaves schools and authorities with no easy way of putting an end to it without being accused of showing favouritism to a particular side.

I spoke to the founder of the Cybersmile Foundation, Scott Freeman on what he recommends when he receives distressed phone calls from victims and parents. Many parents are extremely worried about whether their child is being cyber-bullied and often are not sure how to protect their children if they don’t even know if it’s going on.

They are told to look out for certain signs such as their child acting paranoid and protective about other people looking at their computer and not wanting to go to school. A big reason why children may not want to alert their parents to the problem is the fear that their privileges, such as having a Facebook account and surfing the web may be taken away. Parents must show that they are on their child’s side and want to help them not punish them.

Children who call the helpline are suggested to talk to either to their parents or a member of staff at school about it straight away. If given permission to do so Cybersmile will contact their parents to run them through what can be done. If the child feels uncomfortable with that they should talk to a close friend, the most important thing is not to suffer alone. Cybersmile also offers counselling for anyone who is really having trouble. Most children live in fear of being cyber-bullied and this shouldn’t go on.

The charity also raises awareness of the problem, they fear is growing, by giving talks in schools and universities. They are designed to shock students into thinking about what they do online and who they may be affecting. Cyber-bullying workshops are also on offer for parents and children in order to bridge the gap between both generations and work on ways to combat the problem.

Cybersmile is working on changing the harassment law which they feel is outdated because it does not include online bullying. They believe that the internet should be viewed as a public space in which people who are acting abusive should be punished by law. A petition calling for government action has already received over 1,000 signatures, in the hopes of helping to erase cyber bullying. The foundation is producing anti-cyber-bullying wristbands which will be available from the 5th November. The money raised will be used towards supporting their 24 helpline which can be contacted on 0845 6887277.

For more information about the Cybersmile Foundation visit www.cybersmile.org

Eight out of 10 disabled children bullied, report finds

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Bullying, Children, isolation, learning disabilities, social exclusion

2007:

Eight out of 10 disabled children bullied, report finds

Children and young people with learning disabilities are more likely to face bullying than their peers, according to the charity Mencap.

In a report published today, the charity found that 82% of children with learning disabilities are bullied and 79% are scared to go out because they are frightened they might be bullied.

These figures have risen since last year, when 69% of children surveyed by Bullying Online said they had been bullied.

Mencap’s survey of more than 500 children with learning disabilities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland found that 58% had been physically hurt by bullies, while 27% said they had been bullied for three years or more. Some 36% of the children surveyed said the bullying did not stop when they told someone.

More than half of the children surveyed who had been bullied (53%) said they stayed away from places where they had been taunted in the past and 56% said they cried as a result of bullying, with 33% hiding in their rooms.

Mencap says bullying linked to disability wrecks children’s lives and leads to social exclusion in childhood and adulthood. Its campaign, Don’t stick it, stop it!, launches today, and the charity wants to push the government to take disablist bullying as seriously as all other forms of prejudice-based attacks.

The charity wants to see the government produce guidance for schools, children’s service and youth organisations on how to tackle disablist bullying.

Dame Jo Williams, Mencap’s chief executive, said: “These shocking findings show how big a problem bullying is for children with a learning disability.”

Bullying takes place everywhere, inside and outside of the classroom, Dame Williams said. “Children said they were bullied everywhere they went, on the bus, at youth centres, in parks and on the street. It happens outside the playground but also inside the school gates. Many children are too afraid to go out for fear they will be bullied.”

Children with learning disabilities are missing out on opportunities to learn and make friends, socialise and play, she said. “If action is not taken to tackle bullying, children with a learning disability will face bullying and isolation all their lives.”

Al Aynsley-Green, children’s commissioner for England, said: “I am very concerned by the findings of this report. All forms of bullying can have a serious and detrimental impact on children’s lives.

“The bullying of children with a learning disability is of particular concern to me as they more likely to be bullied than most other groups of children, meaning that they are unable to enjoy a fun and active school, and social life. We must take steps to tackle bullying now and provide children with the appropriate skills, tools and support to give them the confidence to tackle bullying.”

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New guidelines to stop bullying of disabled pupils

Almost half of pupils suffer bullying with taunts over weight and hair

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Bullying, Children, physical appearance, weight

Almost half of pupils suffer bullying with taunts over weight and hair

Nearly half of all pupils have suffered from some form of bullying at school, according to Ofsted.

A study of 1,350 pupils by the education standards watchdog showed 58 per cent of those in primary schools and 41 per cent in secondaries said they had been “picked on” or bullied.

The most common forms of bullying related to aspects of the victims’ physical appearance, including hair colour, weight and the wearing of spectacles.

A handful of pupils said they had been bullied because of their sexuality. A greater number replied it was for “being different” or perceived as “weird”. One pupil wrote “because people thought I was something that I was not”. The report says pupils often dismiss offensive language – such as the word “gay” to mean rubbish” as “banter” despite the fact its usage could be prohibited in school rules.

“What is clear is that these pupils had experienced an upsetting interaction with another pupil that they felt was important enough to write down for inspectors,” the report says.

The report calls for better training for teachers in tackling bullying.

“Schools must develop a positive culture so all pupils learn in a happy and safe environment,” said Susan Gregory, director of education and care at Ofsted.

Bullied Children ‘Three Times More Likely’ To Self-Harm

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Bullying, Children, mental health issues, self-harm, suicide

Bullied Children ‘Three Times More Likely’ To Self-Harm

Children bullied during their early years are up to three times more likely to self harm than their class-mates when they reach adolescence, a study has revealed.

According to its findings, around half of 12-year-olds who subject themselves to deliberate injury were frequently picked on.

The research also showed victimised children with mental health difficulties and those from troubled families were at greater risk of resorting to destructive behaviour which could have serious long-term effects in later life.

The study’s authors have now called for more effective programmes to prevent bullying in schools.

In a paper, published by the British Medical Journal, they suggest efforts should focus on improving the ways in which children cope with emotional distress.

“Bullying by peers is a major problem during the early school years,” they said.

“This study found that before 12 years of age a small proportion of children frequently exposed to this form of victimisation already deliberately harmed themselves and in some cases attempted to take their own lives.

“Frequent victimisation by peers increased the risk of self harm,”

The researchers also raised fears over the long-term implications of bullying which, they said, could result in psychological issues, serious injury or death.

“This study adds to the growing literature showing that bullying during the early years of school can have extremely detrimental consequences for some children by the time they reach adolescence,” they wrote.

“This finding is even more concerning given that studies have suggested that early patterns of self harm can persist through adolescence into adulthood and increase the risk of later psychological problems.

“Therefore, such maladaptive coping strategies need to be tackled in childhood and early adolescence before they become a persistent problem or lead to serious injury or death.”

The authors, from King’s College London, looked at more than 1,000 pairs of twins – born between 1994-1995 in England and Wales – at five, seven, 10 and 12-years-old.

The children were assessed on the risks of self-harming in the six months prior to their 12th birthdays.

Data available for 2,141 individuals showed 237 children were victims of frequent bullying and, of that number, 18 (around 8%) self harmed. This involved cutting or biting arms, pulling out clumps of hair, a child banging its head against walls or attempting suicide.

Of 1,904 children who were not bullied, 44 (2%) self harmed.

The research found marginally more girls (52%) than boys resorted to wounding themselves.

It also showed bullied children with a family member who had either attempted or committed suicide were more likely to self harm than others.

“If bullying could have been eradicated (and everything else remained the same), a sizeable proportion of the cases of self harm could potentially have been prevented,” the authors concluded.

“Although only a small proportion of bullied children in this sample engaged in self harm, this is clearly too many and victims need to be provided with alternative coping strategies from a young age.”

They added: “Prevention of non-suicidal self injury in young adolescents should focus on helping bullied children to cope more appropriately with their distress.

“Programmes should target children who have additional mental health problems, have a family history of attempted/completed suicide, or have been maltreated by an adult.”