Long-term consequences of bullying involvement in first grade

Abstract

Few prospective studies have examined how early bullying experiences impact long-term adjustment and the differential impact of children's co-occurring bullying and peer victimization involvement on adjustment in adulthood. This study addressed these gaps by examining subgroups of first graders involved in bullying and associations with four outcomes in early adulthood, including (a) Major Depression diagnosis, (b) post-high school suicide attempt, (c) on-time high school graduation, and (d) criminal justice involvement. Additionally, middle school standardized reading test scores and suspensions were examined as potential mechanisms through which early bullying involvement is associated with adult outcomes. Participants were 594 children from nine urban elementary schools in the United States who participated in a randomized controlled trial of two school-based universal prevention interventions. Latent profile analyses using peer nominations identified three subgroups: (a) High involvement bully-victims, (b) Moderate involvement bully-victims, and (c) Low/No involvement youth. Compared to the No/Low involvement class, High involvement bully-victims were less likely to graduate high school on time (OR = 0.48, p = .002) and Moderate involvement bully-victims were more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system (OR = 1.37, p = .02). High bully-victims were at greater risk for both not graduating high school on-time and criminal justice system involvement, which were partially explained by 6th grade standardized reading test scores and suspensions. Moderate bully-victims were less likely to graduate high school on time, which was partially explained by 6th grade suspensions. Findings highlight how early bully-victim involvement increases risk for difficulties that affect adult quality of life.