The physical and emotional consequences for the victims of bullying can be severe. Children who are bullied are:

• At greater risk of depression and lower self-esteem later in life
• More likely to report migraine and non-migraine headaches
• Prone to missing more school because of excused and unexcused absences
• At higher risk for running away from home
• More likely to have problems with alcohol and drug use

In some instances, the bullying may be so severe and go on for such a long time that the victim has thoughts of suicide—or he may actually commit suicide. Victims are more likely to attempt suicide than their non-bullied peers. In fact, the term “bullycide” is used to describe a suicide that occurs due to extreme bullying behavior.

Here are some of the short-term and long-term effects of bullying:

Short term:

• Anger
• Depression
• Anxious avoidance of settings in which bullying may occur
• Greater incidence of illness
• Lower grades than non-bullied peers
• Suicidal thoughts

Long term:

• Reduced occupational opportunities
• Lingering feelings of anger and bitterness and a desire for revenge
• Difficulty trusting people
• Interpersonal difficulties, including fear and avoidance of new social situations
• Increased tendency to be a loner
• Perception of self as easy to victimize, overly sensitive and thin-skinned
• Self-esteem problems
• Increased incidence of continued bullying and victimization

Yet, in spite of its prevalence, bullying is too often overlooked or downplayed among parents and educators. Many bullying activities take place out of the view of adults, but even those activities that occur within plain sight are often ignored. Consider this:

• As many as one-fourth of elementary and middle school teachers don’t understand the seriousness of bullying or putdowns and, therefore, intervene in only 4 percent of these incidents.
• More than two-thirds of middle school students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying.