Bullying starts as early as elementary and middle school, and occurs more frequently for students who later identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, a new study suggests.
The study found that from fifth through 10th grade, children who later identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual were nearly twice as likely to be victims of weekly bullying during the previous year.
"There's been a history of saying 'kids will be kids' and that they just have to learn to deal with bullying, but we've recognized more and more that bullying has serious short-term and long-term consequences," said study lead author Dr. Mark Schuster, chief of general pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital.
The consequences of bullying can include physical injury, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress and negative school performance, he said.
[For more of this story, written by Tara Haelle, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/...ay-youth-699156.html]
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