A new study has shown that children who bully others at ages 8-9 are more likely to commit violent crimes by the age of 31. These findings emerged from a study conducted on a nationwide group of boys at the Finnish Centre for Child Psychiatry Research at the University of Turku, Finland. Boys and girls who frequently bullied others were more likely to engage in violent crimes compared to children who never bullied anyone. Boys who often bully also have higher odds of committing violent crimes than those who bully occasionally. The relative risk for boys who engage in frequent bullying to commit a serious violent crime, such as murder or aggravated assault, during the follow-up period was nearly three times greater than for boys who never bullied at all. Being a victim of bullying is not associated with an increased risk of committing violent crimes.
The study examined the underlying factors of the children's social and economic status and psychopathology, and the link between bullying and violent crimes remained even after controlling for data on parental education level, family structure, and potential child psychopathology. The results were also unaffected by other possible bullying experiences that the bully may have faced, such as being a victim of bullying themselves. Researcher Elena Terry from the Centre for Child Psychiatry Research at the University of Turku states: "Our study showed a connection between bullying and violent crimes in both men and women, and these findings also reinforce previous concepts that preventing bullying can reduce violent crimes."
