The impacts of bullying

Most people understand that physical bullying can cause physical harm. But all forms of bullying (verbal, physical, social and online) can affect physical health.

Physical symptoms

Physical symptoms of bullying can include headaches, digestive issues, abdominal pain, backaches, dizziness and body aches. These symptoms can be long-lasting, particularly for students experiencing social (relational) bullying.⁵ 

A negative body image 

Children and young people who are bullied can start to view their body (their physical health, appearance, physical development and abilities) in a negative, harsh or judgemental way. This can be especially distressing for young people going through puberty. It can have negative impacts on body image and self-confidence, and can contribute to anxiety, depression and psychological distress. These negative feelings can occur in the short and long term.⁶

Difficulty sleeping

Bullying can negatively impact sleep hygiene – the behaviours, routines and emotional and psychological elements that promote good sleep. Poor sleep hygiene can lead to poor-quality sleep, which impacts the amount of sleep that someone gets.⁷

Weight gain or loss 

The psychological distress of being bullied is strongly associated with harmful attitudes towards eating and weight loss.⁸ Others, particularly students who were bullied in primary school, can experience above-average weight gain by age 16.⁹

The mental health impacts of bullying on children and teenagers have been studied extensively. They can be long lasting. 

Anxiety and depressive symptoms 

Students who are bullied and students who bully others are significantly more likely to experience anxiety and depression than other students.¹⁰ These symptoms can persist after the bullying has stopped. Research has found links between being bullied and experiencing anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms years later.¹¹

Behavioural issues 

Students who are involved in bullying (including those who are bullied and those who bully others) experience behavioural issues more commonly than other students. This group is also more likely to experience:

• conduct problems (such as breaking rules, skipping school, and getting in physical fights)
• hyperactivity/inattention
• relationship difficulties with peers.¹²

Self-harm and suicide 

Students who are involved in bullying are at a much higher risk of self-harm and suicide compared to other young people.¹³

Students who bully others and are bullied themselves are at the highest risk of self-harm and suicide. This group tends to be the most disliked and rejected group among their peers. They can also experience severe behavioural and emotional difficulties, and are at greater risk of negative long-term outcomes than all other student groups.¹⁴

The psychological impacts of bullying can affect:

• life satisfaction
• psychological distress
• emotional problems.

Bullying is linked to lifelong psychological impacts due to internalising symptoms (when negative behaviours and feelings are bottled up). These internalised negative behaviours and feelings can include a range of emotional difficulties from low self-esteem, social withdrawal and loneliness to symptoms of anxiety and depression. These internalised symptoms can continue from childhood into adulthood.¹⁵ When the symptoms are persistent and ongoing, they can affect a person’s life satisfaction and cause psychological distress and contribute to emotional problems.

Experiences of being bullied, bullying others, and being both bullied and bullying others, have all been negatively linked to academic results.

Academic and employment

• International studies suggest that bullying interferes with students’ cognitive function (ability to learn), which can lead to disengagement from school and school-related activities.¹⁶
• In Australia, bullying has been linked to delays in numeracy, reading and writing for primary school students (NAPLAN)¹⁷ and to lower academic achievement in high school (ATAR).¹⁸  
• Bullying can impact long-term academic and employment outcomes. It has been linked to a greater risk of unemployment, as well as lower odds of completing further education.¹⁹

Experiencing bullying does not automatically impact academic achievement, but bullying ‘draws energy and attention away from the core business of learning’.²⁰

School refusal

Bullying can play a role in school refusal, with students struggling to go to or remain in school because of emotional distress. School refusal is different from truancy as parents are aware of their child or young person’s absence and often struggle to encourage school attendance.

• Bullying significantly increases school refusal rates, particularly among neurodivergent students.
• Anxiety rather than shyness contributes to school refusal, with many students preferring the safety of home.

Social isolation from school avoidance affects social development, limiting opportunities to build friendships and essential life skills.²¹ 

Students who witness bullying (bystanders) can experience increased anxiety and depression. The more often young people witness bullying, the greater the negative mental health impact. Bystanders who assist or reinforce the bullying also tend to experience more significant negative outcomes. 

Witnessing bullying can be distressing, but some research has found that children and young people who step in to help may experience increased self-esteem, academic achievement and future optimism.²²

School bullying can have a negative effect on students’ feelings of safety. It can also negatively impact student and staff morale and wellbeing, which can erode students’ sense of belonging at school.²⁴ Bullying and low school belonging are strongly connected and without intervention, this can lead to an environment that is less likely to suppress bullying behaviour.²⁵

School belonging and the important role supportive school communities play in preventing bullying is covered in greater detail in the Prevent section of this website.

Individual communities and broader society also bear significant costs from bullying at school.²⁶ Impacts on academic and employment opportunities as well as health and wellbeing last about 20 years after graduation. The cost to Australian society is around $2.3 billion through lost productivity and reduced life quality for each year group.²⁷

1. UNESCO. (2024, August). Final report on bullying prevention. https://antibullyingcentre.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UNESCO_Fin_Def_August_24.pdf
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