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Is Bullying Victimization in Childhood Associated With Mental Health in Old Age
[The long-term impact]

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  • Bo Hu
  • Deborah Carr

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study investigates the relationship between bullying victimization in childhood and mental health in old age.MethodsThe study uses data from a nationally representative sample of 9,208 older people aged 60 and older collected through the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2014 and 2015.ResultsOlder people who were bullied in childhood have more severe depressive symptoms and are more likely to be dissatisfied with life than those without the experience of bullying victimization. The negative impacts remain significant after childhood confounders (15 types of familial adversities), four groups of contemporary confounders (demographic, health, social support, and socioeconomic factors), and community-level unobserved heterogeneity are all controlled for. The negative impacts of bullying victimization on mental health are attenuated among people in very old age, which confirms the socioemotional selectivity theory.DiscussionThe consequences of bullying victimization for mental health are comparable to, or even greater than those of familial adversities and contemporary risk factors. The factors threatening mental health vary considerably for older people in different age groups. Effective anti-bullying schemes in childhood and personalized support in later life can make a substantial contribution to healthy aging.

Suggested Citation

  • Bo Hu & Deborah Carr, 2021. "Is Bullying Victimization in Childhood Associated With Mental Health in Old Age [The long-term impact]," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(1), pages 161-172.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:76:y:2021:i:1:p:161-172.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbz115
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amit Shrira & Howard Litwin, 2014. "The Effect of Lifetime Cumulative Adversity and Depressive Symptoms on Functional Status," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(6), pages 953-965.
    2. Bruce Headey & Jonathan Kelley & Alex Wearing, 1993. "Dimensions of mental health: Life satisfaction, positive affect, anxiety and depression," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 63-82, May.
    3. Brimblecombe, Nicola & Evans-Lacko, Sara & Knapp, Martin & King, Derek & Takizawa, Ryu & Maughan, Barbara & Arseneault, Louise, 2018. "Long term economic impact associated with childhood bullying victimisation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 134-141.
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    1. Bo Hu, 2021. "Childhood adversity and healthy ageing: a study of the Chinese older population," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 523-535, December.

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