Childhood bullying, whether physical or verbal, has long-lasting effects on children leading them to develop distrust which can likely cause them to develop significant mental health problems as adolescents, a recent study, published in Nature Mental Health journal, revealed.

The study, co-led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Health and the University of Glasgow, is the first to examine the link between developing a strong distrust of others after childhood bullying and subsequent mental health problems like anxiety, depression, anger and hyperactivity.

The study examined data from 10,000 children in the United Kingdom who were bullied for nearly two decades.

The study found that those bullied at age 11 and later developed greater interpersonal distrust by age 14, were “3.5 times more likely to experience clinically significant mental health problems at age 17 compared to those who developed less distrust.”

The UCLA Health said this study is the “first to confirm the suspected pathway to how bullying leads to distrust, and in turn, mental health problems in late adolescents.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 44.2% of US high school students experienced depression for at least two weeks in 2021, with one in 10 experiencing attempted suicide.

After examining their diet, sleep or physical activity, the study found that “interpersonal distrust” was the only factor to link bullying to a “higher risk of mental health problems at age 17”.

“The researchers viewed these alarming trends from the perspective of Social Safety Theory, which hypothesizes that social threats, such as bullying, impact mental health partly by instilling the belief that other people cannot be trusted, or that the world is an unfriendly, dangerous or unpredictable place,” UCLA Health said.

The study’s senior author Dr George Slavich believes that the study’s findings could help schools and other institutions to counter the negative impacts of bullying.

According to Slavich, the data suggests the need for “school-based programs” to foster interpersonal trust in the classroom and school.

He added that evidence-based programs, particularly focusing on the transition to high school and college, can help develop close, long-lasting relationships.