The impact of bullying on the mental health of children and adolescents

Children and Young People | Last Updated: 18 Feb 26

Background

Children and adolescents with learning disabilities experience a rate of mental health problems three to four times greater than their peers in the general population. They are also more likely to experience bullying than the general population. Existing evidence has linked bullying and adverse mental health outcomes among adolescents, both within the general population, as well as for those with learning disabilities. Therefore, it is conceivable that bullying may mediate the association between intellectual disability and mental health, although this has not previously been explored.

What we will do

Data will be extracted from waves 2-6 of the UK Millennium Cohort Study, to create a parent-reported bullying model and an adolescent-reported bullying model. Structural equation modelling will be conducted to examine parent-reported and adolescent-reported bullying exposure at age 11 as a possible mediator of the relationship between early childhood intellectual disability and mental health problems at age 14.

Project information last updated 6th October 2020

Group members involved in this research

Dr Kirsty Dunn

Kirsty is a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Glasgow, and is an affiliate of the Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory, having joined the team in 2015. She is interested in the health and wellbeing of individuals with learning disabilities and their families. Previously, Kirsty has worked on projects examining patterns of hospital admissions, prevalence of physical and mental health conditions, and the impact of caring for a son/daughter with learning disabilities on fathers. Her current research projects are exploring: The impact of bullying on young people's mental health Common mental health conditions experienced by children and young people Patterns of long-term health conditions and prescribing in adults

Professor Andrew Jahoda

Andrew Jahoda is a Professor of Learning Disabilities in the School of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. He also has an honorary position as a consultant clinical psychologist with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Andrew has worked at Glasgow University since 1998. His research interests concern the mental health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities. This includes work about the impact of stigma and ways of promoting inclusion. Another strand of research is about adapting psychological therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and behavioural activation for people with learning disabilities, to make them more accessible and sensitive to people’s lived experience.

Professor Craig Melville

Craig is a Professor of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry in the School of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. His work focuses on using evidence from research to inform the development of interventions and policy to improve the health of people with neurodevelopmental conditions. Craig has worked on clinical trials of complex interventions, such as psychological therapies, weight management and health checks in primary care. Evidence from epidemiological research has been central to the development of these clinical trials and his work with SLDO centres on how to use Scotland’s national datasets to understand and tackle the health inequalities experienced by people with neurodevelopmental conditions.