Kids Who Witness Abuse at Home May Bully Others

Children who witness abusive behavior in the home are more likely to bully other children, and are at greater risk of depression and anxiety. A number of studies have shown that children exposed to domestic violence are at increased risk of behavior problems, but there has been little specific research on bullying. Bullying mirrors abusive relationships between adults, in that it involves recurrent aggression by a more powerful person over a less powerful one, with the intent to harm.

In a recent study, from the University of Washington in Seattle, researchers looked at the relationship between exposure to intimate partner violence and bullying involvement in 112 children aged 6 to 13. Half of their parents reported perpetrating verbal, physical or sexual violence against an intimate partner, or experiencing this type of violence, at least once in the past five years.

About one third of the children said they bullied other children in the past year, with girls more likely to bully others than boys. Nearly three quarters of the children said they had been victims of bullying by others and they were more likely to be physically aggressive to other children, and were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety or depression.

If you or your children have been victims of intimate partner violence, be watchful of signs that your children may be suffering ill-effects of those experiences.

Help is available……

Pediatrics, August 2006