Can bullying at age 14 predict outcomes decades later?

Details

The study investigated how far self-reported bullying at age 14 predicted later offending, violence and other life outcomes.

In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, 411 South London males were followed from ages 8–10 to ages 48–50. Researchers used repeated face-to-face interviews and searches of criminal records.

Bullying at age 14 predicted violent convictions at ages 15–20, self-reported violence at ages 15–18, low job status at age 18, drug use at ages 27–32, and an unsuccessful life at age 48. These results held after controlling for explanatory and behavioural childhood risk factors measured at ages 8–10.

The authors concluded that bullying might increase the likelihood of these later outcomes. They suggested that interventions that decrease bullying would most likely be followed by decreases in violent offending, drug use and unsuccessful lives.