Childhood bullying as a predictor for becoming a teenage mother in Finland

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between bullying behaviour at the age of eight and becoming a mother under the age of 20.Study design: Birth cohort study, which included 2867 Finnish girls at baseline in 1989. Register-based follow-up data on births was collected from 1994 until 2000. Information on both the main exposure and outcome was available for 2507 girls.Results: Both bullies and victims had an increased risk of becoming a teenage mother independently of family-related risk factors. When controlled for childhood psychopathology, however, the association remained significant for bullies (OR 2.2, 95 % CI 1.2-4.1) and bully-victims (OR 1.8, 95 % CI 1.05-3.2), but not for pure victims. Reports of bullying and victimization from the girls themselves, their parents and their teachers were all associated with becoming a teenage mother independently of each other. Conclusion:There is a predictive association between being a bully in childhood and becoming a mother in adolescence. It may be useful to target bullies for teenage pregnancy prevention.

Is involvement in school bullying associated with general health and psychosocial adjustment outcomes in adulthood?

“…No significant associations were found regarding having a child and being involved in bullying. There is some evidence that women who are bully-victims and bullies giving birth earlier than those not-involved in bullying (Lehti et al, 2011), when measured at age 20 in this previous study in contrast to our study which measured child bearing at age 26-27. This discrepancy could imply that child bearing effects may even out over time.…”

“…Less is known about long term social outcomes in young adults. There is some evidence that males and females who have been bullies or bully-victims in childhood have an increased risk of becoming parents at younger age in adulthood than non-involved peers; however, there was no association with being bullied and parenthood (Lehti et al, 2011(Lehti et al, , 2012. Being a young father or mother is not necessarily a negative occurrence, but it represents an atypical development that may be related to past bullying involvement.…”

Mental Health and Quality-of-Life Concerns Related to the Burden of Food Allergy

“…33 In Finland, being bullied in childhood is a predictor of becoming a teenage mother and teen pregnancy has been proposed as one of many long-term outcomes of bullying. 34 School bullying is typically targeted at children that are more vulnerable. A child with food allergy may experience separation from his or her peers during certain social situations, and may have an underlying increased level of anxiety and social stress.…”

Changes in Mental Health, Bullying Behavior, and Service Use Among Eight-Year-Old Children Over 24 Years

“…Many time-trend studies only include adolescents 11,12 , compare two cross-sectional samples, have maximum follow-up periods of 10-15 years, and are usually based on one informant. Multiple sources are important, since each independently predicts a number of adversities in adolescence and early adulthood, including crime, substance use, psychiatric problems, and teenage pregnancy [13][14][15][16][17][18] .…”