Bullying Tied to Self-Harm in Young Adolescents

At Portrait Health Centers, one of the social stressors that we  investigate as causes for withdrawn and distracted behaviors is bullying.  In all cases of suspected ADHD inattentive type, a comprehensive review of the social stressors must be considered as an underlying cause for symptoms that may appear to be preoccupation with other matters.  
 
Bullying is more common today than ever before, with so many means to bully using social media.  Below is a report on how bullying may lead children to self-harm, as reported in the British Medical Journal.
 
Bullying Tied to Self-Harm in Young Adolescents 

Children who are bullied frequently might be more likely to engage in self-harm behaviors, according to a BMJstudy.

 The study included more than 2000 children in the U.K. Mothers were asked whether their children had been bullied when the children were aged 7 and 10 years, and the children were asked about being bullied when they were age 12. In addition, when the children were 12, mothers were asked if their children had engaged in self-harm.

Overall, 3% of the children had self-harmed, and more than half of these had been bullied often. After adjustment for confounders (e.g., early mental health problems), self-harm remained significantly associated with bullying. Among bullied children, those who self-harmed were more likely to have a family member who had committed suicide, to have been maltreated by an adult, or to have mental health problems than those who did not self-harm. BMJ article
 
Portrait Health Centers has a team of Clinical Psychologists who are specially trained to identify underlying causes of harmful behaviors.  If you suspect your child is resorting to these behaviors as a way to relieve the anxiety associated with bullying or other harassment, please call us today or make an appointment by clicking the SCHEDULE NOW link below.