What Is the Early Adulthood Outcome of Boys Who Bully or Are Bullied in Childhood? The Finnish “From a Boy to a Man” Study

Abstract

Both bullying and victimization during early school years are public health signs that identify boys who are at risk of suffering psychiatric disorders in early adulthood. The school health and educational system has a central role to play in detecting these boys at risk.

Peer Victimization during Middle Childhood as a Marker of Attenuated Risk for Adult Arrest

“…Our results provide new evidence that victimization by peers, and whatever these experiences imply about developmental process, can influence the likelihood of association between early aggression and later arrest. Past investigators have generally viewed children who are concurrently victimized and aggressive as a high-risk subgroup (Nansel et al 2001;Sourander et al 2007). These youths exhibit marked deficits in emotional and behavioral self-regulation and experience dysfunction in a number of different domains (Schwartz et al 2001).…”

“…The most central limitation of this project relates to the one-time assessment of peer group victimization. Past research on the adult outcomes associated with victimization by peers has often relied on very similar designs, examining relations between victimization during a constricted period of childhood and later outcomes (e.g., Sourander et al 2007). However, in the absence of a multi-wave assessment, we are unable to draw conclusions regarding trajectories and outcomes.…”

“…Moreover, investigators have often operationalized aggression and peer victimization as unitary dimensions of social experience without an explicit focus on potential interactions (e.g., Schwartz et al 2015;Sourander et al 2011). Still, a handful of relevant studies do exist with the available evidence indicating that childhood aggression and bullying by peers can combine to amplify risk for psychosocial difficulties during adulthood (Sourander et al 2007;Wolke et al 2013).…”

“…We are aware of only two studies that have examined aggression and victimization by peers in childhood as simultaneous predictors of arrest through the adult years. Sourander et al (2007) conducted analyses based on the Finnish "Boys to Men" study, with self-reported involvement in peer group victimization during childhood as a predictor of adult criminal outcomes. Bullies were slightly more likely to experience adult arrest than bully-victims 1 , but recidivism rates were particularly elevated for bully-victims.…”

English as a Tool to Prevent Bullying and Encourage Equalities: The KiVa Project

“…Besides the targets, bullying constitutes a risk for a healthy development of the perpetrators (Sourander et al, 2007) as well as for bystanders merely witnessing victimization (Rivers et al, 2009). This shows that it is necessary to have an efficient action plan that prevents bullying and shows teachers, students and other educational staff how to act in bullying situations.…”