Boys who bully or are victims of bullies may have a higher risk of mental health disorders as young men, a study published on August 8 suggests.
The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, are based on a group of 2,540 boys Finnish boys. At age 8, the boys were asked whether and how often they bullied other children, were targets of bullying, or both. Parents and teachers also answered questions about any psychiatric symptoms the boys had.
This information was then compared with psychiatric diagnoses in young adulthood - made during medical exams for compulsory military service at 18 to 23 years of age.
Overall, the study authors found, boys who habitually bullied were more likely than their peers to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder as young men. People with this disorder have a disregard for the law and the rights of other people, and are often aggressive or violent.