There are many life-long effects of bullying on children during school, from mental illness to low self-esteem to suicide. While suicide is rare in bullied children, the other effects of bullying are also devastating and last well beyond the time when the child is actually bullied. Many schools and clubs have a zero tolerance policy towards bullying, but sometimes have difficulty identifying the victims and the abusers because children are afraid to come forward.
Anxiety and Depression
Bullying causes long-term problems such as depression and anxiety. In his essay "The Long Term Effects of Bullying," psychologist Mark Dombeck relays his own bullying experiences as a child, as well as the experience of his patients, and then asserts that the anger, anxiety and depression of that moment often lingers into adulthood, causing problems with keeping a job, forming relationships and even continued victimization in abusive relationships or work environments. Dombeck writes that intervention is necessary so that as adults, the victims "learn that they are acceptable people who have something to offer other people."
Physical Ailments
Children who are bullied will complain of headaches, stomachaches and overall fatigue. The issues are usually caused by mental anguish that manifests in physical ailments. An article, "What are the Signs Your Child is Being Bullied" at mychildsaftey.com suggests that children who are bullied often use physical complaints to get out of school. Additionally they may avoid the school bathrooms, causing urinary tract infections from holding urine during the day.
Poor Grades
Children who are bullied can't concentrate in school so their grades often plummet, according to the mychildsafety.net article. In fact, suddenly falling grades may be a warning sign that your child is being bullied. A child's grades may also suffer if she misses a lot of school due to bullying.
Additional Victimization
A particularly unfortunate effect of bullying is that some children who are bullied go on to victimize and harass other children, according to comments by psychologist Sandra McDermott in an article in the Jamaica Observer. In the same way that some children begin to bully at school because they are bullied at home, children who are bullied at school will begin to look for children more vulnerable than they are to bully. It's an effort to exert any power they may have over someone more vulnerable. Finally, a bullied child may, at the demand of his own bully, become a bully to another child.
