Sibling bullying can harm mental health of both victim and the bully, reveals Study

A new study led by the University of York has revealed that children vulnerable to bullying by siblings are more prone to mental problems later in their adolescence. Considering how fragile children and their minds are at a young age, the study suggested that problematic sibling relationships can lead to deterioration of mental health and cause long-term problems.

Bullying can harm both the victim and the bully

Results from the study have revealed that sibling bullying in children at an early age is independent of whether the child was a victim or a bully, as both are exposed to its long-term effects later during adolescence. Published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, the study titled "Sibling Bullying: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Associations with Positive and Negative Mental Health during Adolescence" arrived at this conclusion after analysing data from over 17,000 participants. 

The data revealed that the severity of mental health in early to middle adolescence increased as the children got exposed to more intense bullying by siblings. Talking about the same, lead author of the study Dr. Umar Toseeb from the University of York's Department of Education explained that this study has underscored the long-term effects of persistent sibling bullying and the severity of mental health outcomes. 

Dr. Umar said that although previous studies have linked bullying to poor mental health, this comprehensive investigation has measured both positive and negative aspects of bullying. The positive aspects include wellbeing and self-esteem while the negative aspects includes symptoms of psychological distress. 

Interestingly, Dr Toseeb highlighted another eyebrow-raising fact saying that the bullies who dominated their siblings but weren’t bullied themselves, had worse mental health records in the years ahead. As part of the possible solutions, the research suggested that promoting positive mental health, prevention and clinical interventions can lessen the impact of bullying during adolescence.

Researchers analysed years-old data

As per Medical Xpress, these are the findings from a UK-based Millennium Cohort Study conducted back in the early 2000s which extracted data from parents as well as their children. In the study, children between the age of 11 and 14 were asked questions about sibling bullying followed by another questionnaire, that was based on mental health, when they turned 17. The parents also fed in answers about the mental health of their children at age 11, 14, and 17 years old.

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