The Long-Term Influence of Bullying and Its Effects on the Brain

While studying how bullying affects a person over time and its power to reshape the brain, researchers made some surprising discoveries

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Bullying is common throughout the animal kingdom, and humans are no exception. We’ve likely bullied each other since the beginning of our evolution as a species. In some ways, bullying is considered a way to assert One’s dominance over another, and while frowned upon, the behavior is generally accepted as normal.

But we shouldn’t ignore or normalize bullying, especially considering it’s becoming a more significant issue affecting entire generations and society at large. After centuries of noninterest, researchers are now rushing to study it, and what they discovered is alarming.

Bullying on the Rise

Over the last few decades, we’ve collectively shrugged off victims of bullying and essentially told them to “get over it.” Bullying is just an unfortunate yet totally normal life experience.

However, sometimes, a term can lose meaning when we hear it or use it frequently, so it can be beneficial to remind ourselves of its definition. In this case, the American Psychological Association defines bullying as:

“Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words, or more subtle actions.

“The bullied individual typically has trouble defending him or herself and does nothing to ‘cause’ the bullying.

“Cyberbullying is verbally threatening or harassing behavior conducted through such electronic technology as cell phones, email, social media, or text messaging.”

Ah, yes, Cyberbullying — our newest and arguably perpetrators’ favorite type of bullying, with sometimes deadly consequences.

Cyberbullying, especially among youth, has been on the rise for years, but in-school bullying was significantly more common pre-pandemic. Until, as might be expected with school closures, cyberbullying surpassed in-person bullying during the pandemic. However, even since schools resumed in-person classes, cyberbullying remained the primary school bullying style in 2023. Data isn’t in yet for 2024.

It’s becoming well known that the challenges of today’s youth when it comes to bullying are contributing to why anxiety and depression are rising among younger generations. Recent research found that suicide is now the second leading cause of death for teens and adolescents after rising almost 25 percent in the last 15 years — guns are number one.

But school kids aren’t the only ones dealing with a rise in bullying. Research suggests there’s an uptick in violence and harassment in the workplace, too.

Typically, bullying, in its many forms, involves one or two people who have one or more specific bullying targets, but sometimes, groups of people will participate in what’s known as “mobbing,” which can occur at work, in school, or online.

Previous Research

As bullying behaviors increase, researchers have begun studying its effects on us as individuals and on society as a whole. For instance, a child who experiences severe or persistent bullying can develop poor mental health as an adult and have a higher chance of developing substance abuse, psychiatric conditions, and committing suicide.

Bullying is and has long been especially prevalent among young children and youth, and commonly presents as causing physical harm to others, social exclusion, and saying mean things.

However, the behavior may become more subtle, or at least less violent, with age as kids learn they may get in trouble for hitting. So, bullying often evolves into more mocking, insulting, and excluding the bully’s target than violence.

Unsurprisingly, scientists are curious about the impact or influence of bullying on our brains. Previous research identified brain regions that are indeed affected by bullying, at least in the short term. However, it is less well-known how bullying impacts the brain over time.

Over the past decade, most research on the neurobiological processes that may contribute to adverse health outcomes has concentrated on the effects of bullying on the body’s stress response system. Then, in 2018, an international team of scientists based at King’s College London took a different approach by studying the effects of bullying on the brain’s architecture. 

Previous Study

For their study, which was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the researchers used longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data and discovered that trauma from chronic bullying can restructure the brain.

The researchers at King’s College used a dataset gathered from one of the first longitudinal studies focused on adolescent brain development and mental health: the IMAGEN Study, a European research project that encompassed clinical, genetic, and neuroimaging data from youths in France, Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. 

Longitudinal studies collect data from the same group of participants over years, which allows researchers to monitor changes over time and more accurately assess whether specific experiences, like being bullied, are associated with structural changes in the brain.

For the King’s College study, 682 youth participants completed questionnaires about the extent of bullying in their daily lives at ages 14, 16, and 19. Additionally, participants had brain imaging via MRI scanning twice, at ages 14 and 19.

Remarkably, the scans revealed nine brain regions that appeared to be influenced by stress and maltreatment.

The study’s findings align with previous research that found similar changes in the brains of children and adults who experienced neglect or abuse by caregivers — known as child maltreatment.

The fact that bullying could affect nine brain regions is concerning for sure, but that’s nothing compared to the number of regions Michael Connaughton at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and his colleagues recently identified.

Recent Study