Published:
August 15, 2022
While the data on bullying and kids is disturbing, there is good news about ways schools and communities are working together to curb this unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. And one study reveals something we can all do: encourage kids to be active!
What is Bullying?
Bullying includes actions like making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, about 22 percent of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied. Almost half said they experienced bullying at school. About 15 percent said they experienced bullying online.
Strategies to Curb Bullying
It is great to see schools implement anti-bullying curricula and interventions to help assure our kids develop and learn in healthy, safe environments. Interestingly, one study highlights a strategy to reduce the harmful effects of bullying that we’ve always known is important: physical activity.
In an article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, researchers at the University of Vermont looked at data from 13,583 U.S. students to evaluate the effects of exercise on mental health. More specifically, they studied how exercise correlated with sadness and suicidal thoughts in bullied and non-bullied students.
The Correlation Between Exercise and Sadness/Suicidal Thoughts
What the research found is unsurprising: exercise is a good thing! Students across the board who said they engaged in physical activity four to five times a week had a lower incidence of sadness, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
When the researchers pulled out data specifically for students who reported having been bullied, they found similar results: bullied students who were physically active had an approximate 23 percent reduction in suicidal thoughts and attempts.
A Call to Action: Encourage Physical Activity for Kids' Mental Health
In many ways this correlation is wonderful news and demonstrates the great power of physical activity in blunting the negative effects of bullying and lessening depression. We already know the overall benefits of exercise on physical health. This data reinforces the need for continued emphasis on getting kids active for mental health benefits.
We need to keep encouraging our kids to:
- Play sports on school teams
- Run around on the playground during recess
- Jump up and down in gym class
- Kick a soccer ball in an after school program
- Take a run or walk around the neighborhood
Bullying and its detrimental effects should continue to garner our collective attention and accordingly, so should our efforts to increase opportunities for all children and adolescents to be physically active.
Jeremy Sibold, Ed.D., lead author of the University of Vermont study and associate professor and chairman of the university’s department of rehabilitation and movement science notes: “If exercise reduces sadness, suicide ideation and suicide attempts, then why in the world are we cutting physical education programs and making it harder for students to make athletic teams at such a critical age?"
It is indeed useful to consider interventions to increase physical activity in our communities and schools that can swing the pendulum in a direction favorable to both mental and physical well-being. Let’s help kids be active!