Children who have been bullied by their siblings more than once a week during their adolescence were twice as likely to develop clinical depression in young adulthood, a study says.
They also reported to have had done acts of self-harm within the previous year, compared to children who have not been bullied by their siblings.
These were the findings of a longitudinal study that aimed to examine possible links between sibling bullying and self-harm and clinical depression in young adults. The study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, was conducted by a collaborative team from the University of Oxford, Warwick, Bristol, and UCL.
According to the researchers, interventions are needed to address a form of bullying which is still being bypassed by policy makers, clinicians, and academics.
Dr. Lucy Bowes of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention and the study's lead author, said that bullying that involves being shoved around the playground or harassed at work have already been well-documented. Meanwhile, their study helps uncover other forms of bullying. Dr. Bowes added that victims of sibling bullying have little escape from their oppressors, as sibling relationships are integral to development. "We are not talking about the sort of teasing that often goes on within families, but incidents that occur several times a week, in which victims are ignored by their brothers or sisters, or are subjected to verbal or physical violence," Dr. Bowes clarified.
The researchers further discovered that the relationship between experiences of sibling bullying and later mental health problems were similar for both girls and boys. They also found that victims were more likely to be girls than boys. Bullying was also more common in families with at least three or more children. Perpetrators were often older brothers, and on average such bullying started at eight years old.
