Bullying is more prevalent in children with multiple siblings, study states
| Feb 18, 2019, 15:39 IST
All children fight and argue with their siblings about the tiniest things. And while this is often seen as normal behaviour, a new study has found that children with multiple siblings are often more prone to bullying by their siblings. It also found that firstborns and older siblings were often the perpetrators here. “Sibling bullying is the most frequent form of family violence and it is often seen as a normal part of growing up by parents and health professionals, but there is increasing evidence that it can have long-term consequences, like increased loneliness, delinquency and mental health problems,” said one researcher.
For the study, the researchers divided a group of participants into four groups: victims, bully-victims (both victims and perpetrators), bullies and uninvolved. As these children were growing up their mothers were asked about their behaviours and once the children reached the age of 12, they were asked if they were ever victims of bullying or were perpetrators too or both. It was found that nearly 28% of the children in the study were involved in sibling bullying and the most common form was psychological abuse.
“Bullying occurs in situations where we cannot choose our peers, like in families,” said the researcher. “Siblings live in close quarters and the familiarity allows them to know what buttons to press to upset their brothers or sisters. This can go both ways and allows a child to be both a victim and a perpetrator of bullying.” It was also found that younger children and females were targeted more often. The researchers concluded by saying that bullying occurred irrespective of social class so even rich families have these issues. Stay tuned for more updates.
For the study, the researchers divided a group of participants into four groups: victims, bully-victims (both victims and perpetrators), bullies and uninvolved. As these children were growing up their mothers were asked about their behaviours and once the children reached the age of 12, they were asked if they were ever victims of bullying or were perpetrators too or both. It was found that nearly 28% of the children in the study were involved in sibling bullying and the most common form was psychological abuse.
“Bullying occurs in situations where we cannot choose our peers, like in families,” said the researcher. “Siblings live in close quarters and the familiarity allows them to know what buttons to press to upset their brothers or sisters. This can go both ways and allows a child to be both a victim and a perpetrator of bullying.” It was also found that younger children and females were targeted more often. The researchers concluded by saying that bullying occurred irrespective of social class so even rich families have these issues. Stay tuned for more updates.