Tweens Tween Life How Being a Bully Affects Future Development By Rebecca Fraser-Thill Rebecca Fraser-Thill LinkedIn Twitter Rebecca Fraser-Thill holds a Master's Degree in developmental psychology and writes about child development and tween parenting. Learn about our editorial process Updated on June 01, 2020 Fact checked by Andrea Rice Fact checked by Andrea Rice Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Andrea Rice is an award-winning journalist and a freelance writer, editor, and fact-checker specializing in health and wellness. Learn about our editorial process Print SW Productions/Stockbyte/Getty Images You may have heard about the short-term and long-range effects of being bullied, but what are the effects of being a bully? Children who are bullies have an increased risk for many negative outcomes. Parents who suspect their child is engaging in bullying behavior may want to intervene to help prevent these problems throughout their child's life. Negative Impacts People who are or were bullies are more likely to drop out of school than their peers. They are at increased risk of experiencing depression, anxiety disorder, and psychological distress, especially if they face up to the seriousness of their bullying behavior. Bullies are more likely to abuse tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. They are more likely than their peers to engage in early sexual activity. Increased Risk of Problems With the Law Being a bully as a child or teen increases the odds of future run-ins with the law. Former bullies tend to have more traffic violations and four times the rate of criminal behavior than their non-bullying peers. Research has found that 60% of children who bullied other children in grades 6 through 9 had at least one criminal conviction by age 24 and 35. Studies have also shown that former bullies are also more likely to carry weapons than non-bullies and may develop an antisocial personality disorder. Bullies Carry Relationship Problems Into Adulthood Being a bully in childhood seems to impact a person's home life as an adult. Former bullies tend to have problems with long-term relationships and may be abusive toward both their spouses and children. They also have a harder time securing and maintaining employment than people who were not bullies. People who had been bullies are more likely to have children who become bullies themselves, thus beginning the cycle all over again. Research Into the Effects Extensive research has studied the effects of bullying on victims, while new research on the perpetrators themselves is emerging. Also, there are a significant number of bullies who are also victims of bullies. This also brings to mind the question of whether cyberbullies will have the same negative consequences as traditional "real-world" bullies, but since this is a relatively new phenomena more research is still needed. Warning Signs That Your Child Is Bullying Others Being a bully may have negative consequences throughout your child's life. If you look for signs that he is engaging in this behavior, you may be able to help your child stop bullying. Warning signs that your child is a bully include:Gets into physical and verbal altercationsAre friends with other children who are bulliesShows signs of becoming increasingly aggressiveFrequently has disciplinary problems at schoolBlames others rather than taking responsibility for their own actionsIs very competitive and focused on popularity A Word From Verywell Bullying behavior may be a sign that your child needs help to develop coping mechanisms and appropriate relationships with others. If you can intervene to end bullying behavior and help your child develop better social skills, it will benefit your child for the rest of their life. 6 Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. StopBullying.gov. Effects of Bullying. Wolke D, Lereya ST. Long-term effects of bullying. Arch Dis Child. 2015;100(9):879-885. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2014-306667 Radliff KM, Wheaton JE, Robinson K, Morris J. Illuminating the relationship between bullying and substance use among middle and high school youth. Addict Behav. 2012;37(4):569-572. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.01.001 Holt MK, Matjasko JL, Espelage D, Reid G, Koenig B. Sexual Risk Taking and Bullying Among Adolescents. Pediatrics. 2013;132(6):e1481-1487. doi:10.1542/peds.2013-0401 Shetgiri R. Bullying and Victimization Among Children. Adv Pediatr. 2013;60(1):33-51. doi:10.1016/j.yapd.2013.04.004 American Psychological Association. Who Is Likely to Become a Bully, Victim or Both? Additional Reading Vanderbilt D, Augustyn M. The effects of bullying. Pediatrics and Child Health. 2010;20(7):315-320. doi:10.1016/j.paed.2010.03.008 Rivara F, Menestrel SL. Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2016. By Rebecca Fraser-Thill Rebecca Fraser-Thill holds a Master's Degree in developmental psychology and writes about child development and tween parenting. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit