HHS HealthBeat (April 23, 2012)

The effects of bullying

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Nicholas Garlow with HHS HealthBeat.

Kids who are bullied are at increased risk of be depressed. They’re more likely to have sleep problems, and lower academic scores. This is especially true for kids who are bullied on a regular basis.

Marci Hertz is a health scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“They’re also more likely to miss school or to drop out of school. You can understand if they’re being bullied at school, they’re less likely to go to school then and be victimized.” (10 seconds)

If a child is being bullied:

“The first step I would encourage them to do is to reach out to the school counselor or social worker if there is one to get assistance and in terms of mental health support.” (10 seconds)

You can learn how to take action against bullying and prevent it from happening at stopbullying.gov.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Nicholas Garlow.

Last revised: April 23, 2012