Bullying Victims

Bullying may increase victim's risk for developing psychotic symptoms later in life.
The Los Angeles Times (1/5, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reported that "bullying by peers can increase the risk of the victim developing psychotic symptoms later in life," an international team of researchers concluded after following 2,232 twin children and their families. "Children who were bullied by peers were more than twice as likely to experience psychotic symptoms at age 12 compared with children who did not suffer similar trauma," according to a paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry. "This risk remained present even when the researchers controlled for other factors that could contribute to mental illness, such as socioeconomic deprivation, IQ and genetic disposition to mental illness."