Connecting Adolescent Maltreatment to Bullying

In 2007, the US Department of Health and Human Services discovered that approximately 794,000 children were abused and neglected (Sousa, et al., 2011). Of those children 1, 760 died (Sousa, et al., 2011). These reported numbers put into perspective the devastation of abusive relationships and the substantial impacts that arise. According to Muller, Jusyte, Trzebiatowski, Hautzinger, and Schonenberg (2017), “Adolescence is a crucial time period… during which children develop social skills that will shape the way they interact with their social partners in adulthood” (p. 1).  This quote sets the foundation for the arguments that will further cement the reasons why adolescent development is important. First and foremost, without a role model or guardian with effective parenting skills, children are more likely to be aggressive and learn negative behaviours that lead to bullying (Wolfe, Crooks, Chiodo, & Jaffe, 2009). Next, children who are abused sexually, physically, and emotionally are less likely to form healthy relationships as adults which impedes their response when reacting to conflict (Wolfe, Crooks, Chiodo, & Jaffe, 2009). Finally, adolescents who experience maltreatment, which is a formal way to express abuse and neglect, have a lack of mental stability which lingers into adulthood (Trickett, Negriff, Ji, & Peckins, 2011). Ultimately with an absence of support, it is proven that children show higher levels of anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, a lack of belonging, school involvement, and a decrease in self-esteem (Wilkins-Shurmer, et al., 2003). Studies have shown that adolescents who experience a lack of support from a guardian, abusive relationships and signs of maltreatment will lead to bullying behaviours.

As a caregiver, it is important to recognize the responsibilities of responding to a child’s needs by showing compassion and discipline to aggressive behaviours. If this relationship is not established between a guardian or role model with a child, it is a form of maltreatment due to the lack of support. This is reinforced by the notion that responding to behavioural issues helps to “protect children against the risk of being bullied,” (Healy, Sanders, & Lyer, 2015, p. 3) and altogether regulates “their emotions in response to adversity.” (Healy, Sanders, & Lyer, 2015, p. 3). This states that with proper parenting practices in place, children are less likely to be aggressive and learn negative behaviours that lead to bullying (Wolfe, Crooks, Chiodo, & Jaffe, 2009). Furthermore, parent-child relationships are essential because they mould the way that children relate to others (Healy, Sanders, & Lyer, 2015) which ultimately prevents patterns of abuse to occur in adulthood (Wolfe, Crooks, Chiodo, & Jaffe, 2009).

It has also been proven that adolescents who are raised by a supportive family and positive home atmosphere were able to cope with conflict effectively (Healy, Sanders, & Lyer, 2015). This relates to the notion that by teaching proper ways to cope with aggressive behaviours, they will build a positive relationship and prevent bullying from occurring. When children are bullied their self-esteem is lowered and they begin to bully others to relieve the pressure from themselves. They have difficulties with problem-solving and tend to seek acceptance from others as a way to feel a sense of belonging (Healy, Sanders, & Lyer, 2015). Child maltreatment has also been linked to bullying through a lack of parental consulting and regulating of peer relationships. Researchers stated that when parents talked to their child about peer-conflict it encouraged them to understand and create social skills altogether forming a positive bond (Mounts, 2011). However, if this relationship is not established the child will not learn how to deal with conflict in an effective way and problematically continue to behave without discipline. Altogether, reinstating that with responsible parenting methods, adolescents will carry forward positive learned behaviours as opposed to actions stemmed from child maltreatment which lead to bullying.

Additionally, youth who have been sexually, physically, and emotionally abused have a higher chance of forming unhealthy relationships in adulthood. Throughout life, people must interact with others in the workplace, public areas, their family, friends, and possibly a significant other. This makes having a healthy relationship essential to bond and feel happy. However, those who have been victimized as a child and grow learning negative behaviours will experience fear, mistrust, distorted beliefs about relationships and hostility towards others (Wolfe, Crooks, Chiodo, & Jaffe, 2009). Evidently, this shows that child maltreatment could have long-lasting effects which creates a poor atmosphere for themselves and the people surrounded by them. Reinstating with the passage, “As with child abuse, children’s exposure to domestic violence can lead to short- and longer-term outcomes of internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems during adolescence including delinquency, status offenses, and perpetration of violence.” (Sousa, et al., 2011, p. 3). Therefore, the developmental stages of childhood are the most important considering that the victims of maltreatment have a higher chance of becoming a perpetrator (Sousa, et al., 2011). This concludes that the cycle of abuse will continue through acts of bullying when abusive relationships at a young age concur.

Consequently, children who have experienced maltreatment face larger challenges trying to relate to others. This is evident in a recent study, “Learning to relate to others begins at birth and carries forward to new relationships, which is why child maltreatment and exposure to intimate partner violence have emerged as powerful risk factors for future coercive and hostile relationship patterns.” (Wolfe, Crooks, Chiodo, & Jaffe, 2009, p. 1). When a child grows up in an abusive household they are influenced by the negative behaviours, in fact, 1/3 of abused children become the perpetrator in adulthood (Narang & Contreras, 2005). This stems from their inability to form healthy relationships causing them to be more aggressive and have a lack of response when problematic situations arise in their lifetime. Abused or neglected adolescents will have a lower peer status and face higher levels of peer rejection and delinquent behaviours (Trickett, Negriff, Ji, & Peckins, 2011). As a result, they will crave attention due to the lack of support from their guardian and/or peers by threatening and using physical aggression towards others (Henry, et al., 2014). From the gathered information, it is evident that adolescents who have experienced sexual, physical, and emotional abuse have difficulty forming healthy relationships and thus carry negative behaviours onwards.

Lastly, with regards to adolescent maltreatment, children have a lack of mental stability meaning that they show signs of depression, anxiety, a lack of school involvement and eventually turn to substance abuse and gambling (Wolfe, Crooks, Chiodo, & Jaffe, 2009). Studies have shown that when youth were faced with abusive behaviours, the HPA axis released a greater amount of cortisol reactivity which is an indicator of high stress levels (Trickett, Negriff, Ji, & Peckins, 2011). This means that with an increased amount of stress from abusive relationships, the child’s mentality has been compromised allowing signs of depression to increase. This creates a direct link to substance abuse, gambling addictions and a lack of school involvement as a way of escapism (Trickett, Negriff, Ji, & Peckins, 2011). Shariff (2011) explains that bullying behaviours are one of the most pressing issues of today, especially within schools. This states how negative behaviours need to be addressed before they lead to bullying. Another example is when a guardian showed interest in their child rather than actions associated with neglect, the child’s overall development and meaning of life was improved (Yamauchi, 2010). Yamauchi (2010) also finds that, “Parental education and mental health are significantly and substantially correlated with children’s socio-emotional outcomes” (p. 11). Reinstating that outcomes of bullying can be avoided when abusive behaviours and relationships are out of the equation.

Therefore, by referring to the 794,000 abused and neglected children of 2007, it can be identified that many relationships were damaged impacting the lives of many adolescents. Without a guardian who can effectively provide support through the developmental stages of a child’s life, they will be influenced to learned inappropriate and aggressive behaviours that lead to bullying. It is important for adolescents to have a role model who can teach them proper ways to treat others, so they can grow and carry healthy characteristics forward in future relationships. Secondly, children who are victims of sexual, physical, and/or emotional assault are more likely to create unhealthy relationships. Therefore, bringing awareness to this issue is one of the many ways to help prevent abuse from happening. Lastly, with regards to adolescent maltreatment, there are increased signs of depression, anxiety, attempts of suicide, substance abuse, a lack of interest for school and addictions to gambling. Ultimately, these factors lead to bullying when there is a lack a confidence, low self-esteem, and an increase for attention and popularity gain by peers. By avoiding abusive behaviours in the early developmental stages of life, children have a chance to form strong, positive relationships, become mentally stabilized, and pass on viable outcomes preventing bullying in the future. Altogether, these arguments prove that abusive relationships regarding adolescent behaviour and maltreatment lead to bullying.

References

Healy, K. L., Sanders, M. R., & Lyer, A. (2015). Parenting Practices, Children’s Peer Relationships and Being Bullied at School. Journal of Child and Family Studies , 127-140.

Henry, K. L., Lovegrove, P. J., Steger, M. F., Chen, P. Y., Cigularov, K. P., & Tomazic, R. G. (2014). The Potential Role of Meaning in Life in the Relationship Between Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence: A Multidisciplinary Research Publication, 221-232.

Mounts, N. S. (2011). Parental Management of Peer Relationships and Early Adolescents’ Social Skills. Journal of Youth and Adolescence: A Multidisciplinary Research Publication, 416-427.

Muller, S., Jusyte, A., Trzebiatowski, S., Hautzinger, M., & Schonenberg, M. (2017). Processing of Ambiguous Facial Affect in Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms Prior to and Following Social Exclusion: The Role of Perceptual Sensitivity and Response Bias. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment , 253-263.

Narang, D. S., & Contreras, J. M. (2005). The Relationship of Dissociation and Affectiive Family Environment with the Intergenrational Cycle of Child Abuse . Child Abuse and Neglect, 683-699.

Shariff, S. (2011). “Bullying Today” from Cyber- Bullying: Issues and Solutions for the School, the Classroom and the Home. Toronto: Pearson.

Sousa, C., Herrenkohl, T., Moylan, C., Tajima, E., Klika, J., Herrenkohl, R., & Russo, M. (2011). Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Child Abuse and Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence, Parent-Child Attachments, and Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 111-136.

Trickett, P. K., Negriff, S., Ji, J., & Peckins, M. (2011). Child Maltreatment and Adolescent Development. Journal of Research on Adolescence , 21(1), 3-20.

Wilkins-Shurmer, A., O’Callaghan, M. j., Najman, J. m., Bor, W., Wlliams, G. M., & Anderson, M. (2003). Association of Bullying with Adolescent Health-Related Quality of Life. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 436-441.

Wolfe, D. A., Crooks, C. C., Chiodo, D., & Jaffe, P. (2009). Child Maltreatment, Bullying, Gender-Based Harassment, and Adolescent Dating Violence: Making the Connections. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33(1), 21-24.

Yamauchi, C. (2010). Parental Investment in Children: Differential Pathways of Parental Education and Mental Health. Economic Record, 210-226.

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Written by Tessa R. Adamski