Bullying by Peers and in the Family: Precursors, Consequences and Intervention

Bullying is the systematic abuse of power and defined as aggressive behavior or intentional harm-doing by peers that is carried out repeatedly, and involves an imbalance of power, either actual or perceived, between the victim and the bully. Bullying occurs in situations where children or adults are unable to choose their peers such as between siblings in the family or with peers at school or at work. One in 3 young people report having been bullied at some point in their lives. Being bullied by siblings or peers is the most frequent form of abuse encountered by children, much higher than abuse by parents or other adult perpetrators.

The scope of this Research Topic is to provide an overview from original or review papers of the consequences of bullying from nursery to school and in the workplace. The papers will look at peer bullying and the more recently emerging evidence on bullying between siblings. Outcomes to be considered are mental health outcomes, mental health service use, health related costs for children and their families and quality of life. Secondly, it will address the major precursors that have been identified regarding the bullying and types of bullying such as direct, indirect, and cyber-bullying. An aim would be to identify commonalities that exist between different types of bullying and in different situations (family, school, or work place). Finally, studies or reviews of successful interventions, their limitations and future directions will be given.