Young men’s suicidal behavior, depression, crime, and substance use risks linked to childhood teasing

Abstract

The consequences in adulthood of bullying, teasing, and other peer victimization experiences in childhood rarely have been considered in prospective studies. Studies of peer victimization are mixed regarding whether negative outcomes are explained by pre-existing child vulnerabilities. Furthermore, replication of prior studies with broader definitions and other methods and demographic groups is needed. Based on mother, father, and teacher reports at ages 10–12 years, we classified American boys (n = 206) from higher delinquency neighborhoods as perpetrators of teasing, victims, perpetrator–victims, or uninvolved (n = 26, 35, 29, and 116, respectively). Family income, parent and child depressive symptoms, and child antisocial behavior served as controls. Boys were assessed to age 34 years for suicide-attempt history (including death) and adult (ages 20–32 years) suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, patterned tobacco and illicit drug use, and arrest. Relative to uninvolved boys, means or odds were higher for: suicide attempt among perpetrator–victims; all three groups for depressive symptoms and clinically significant symptoms; arrest for perpetrators and perpetrator–victims; number of arrests and violent arrest among perpetrator–victims; and patterned tobacco use among perpetrators and perpetrator–victims. With childhood vulnerabilities controlled, however, odds remained higher only for suicide attempt among perpetrator–victims, and criminal arrest and patterned tobacco use among perpetrators. Overall, childhood involvement in teasing predicted serious adverse outcomes in adulthood, in some cases beyond childhood risks. Programs that prevent peer victimization and identify already involved individuals for additional services may have positive impacts on the diverse public health problems of suicide, crime, depression, and tobacco use.

Peer teasing experiences of fathers and their children: Intergenerational associations and transmission mechanisms

“…Although most research on peer victimization focuses on bullying involving repeated aggression by more powerful peers, bullying is not the only detrimental peer victimization experience children can have (see Finkelhor, Turner, & Hamby, 2012). Indeed, peer teasing in childhood also is associated with concurrent problems and long-term negative outcomes in adulthood (e.g., Kerr, Gini, & Capaldi., 2017). Thus, further research is needed to document both the risk for and long-term consequences of peer victimization involvement in childhood and adolescence.…”

Prospective associations between peer teasing in childhood and young men’s obesity

“…Fourth, rates of retention were remarkably high, minimizing this potential bias as a concern. Finally, prior work with this sample indicates that teasing experiences at age 12 years predicted a diverse array of negative psychosocial outcomes, including suicide attempt, clinically significant depressive symptoms, arrest, and patterned tobacco use, [14] some of which persisted following adjustment for the potent childhood risks considered presently. Thus, it is possible that obesity is not among the myriad long-term negative consequences of childhood bullying and teasing.…”

“…Our prior work indicates that the measures of being teased used in the current study are predictive of serious long-term adjustment problems, particularly among victims who also tease other children. [14] Third, the sample size was relatively small; power was greater than 80% to detect a group difference on BMI of approximately a one-half standard deviation using a t-test. Fourth, research is needed in samples that include women, as a recent meta-analysis found that obesity was more strongly associated with a childhood history of maltreatment in studies that included more women.…”

“…A second validity check reported elsewhere [14] indicated that the teasing item is relevant to hurtful peer teasing, rather than good natured or playful peer teasing or teasing by adults (e.g., family members). Specifically, the mean of parents’ reports on the CBCL “ gets teased a lot ” item at ages 13–16 years was highly correlated ( r [198] = .719, p < .001) with the mean of parents’ reports across the same ages on an item from a peer scale developed by Dishion and Capaldi [29] (“How often do other kids pick on or tease your son?” [1- never to 5- very often ]).…”

“…Indeed, several studies of cohorts followed prospectively to early adulthood support that peer victimization in childhood predicts higher rates of depression, suicide attempt, and suicide. [14–18] Whether such experiences have effects on obesity has rarely been examined.…”