From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-379181-607215
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Compared to their victims, bullies experience a
significantly higher risk of a wide range of health, safety and
educational problems, U.S. researchers said.
In this study, bullying victims proved more likely to inflict
self-injury or experience accidental injuries, abuse over-the-counter
medications, hurt animals and people on purpose, use weapons and be
absent from school, compared to students uninvolved in bullying.
However, the study, published in the International Journal of
Adolescent Medicine and Health, also revealed that bullies and
bully/victims -- students who have both bullied and been bullied --
experienced an even greater risk of these problems than victims.
Lead study author Dr. Jorge Srabstein, medical director of the Clinic
for Health Problems Related to Bullying at Children's National Medical
Center in Washington, said bullies and bully/victims were more likely
-- with up to a fourteen-fold increased risk -- to abuse alcohol,
drugs and tobacco; experience injuries requiring hospitalization; set
fires; carry weapons to school; skip classes; and receive poor grades,
compared to victims alone.
"We see that the (obvious) victims are not the only victims," lead
study author Jorge Srabstein said in a statement. "The bullies are
also victims of their own emotional problems."