Implicatoins of youth bulling on mental health

Resumen

Youth bullying is an international phenomenon that has similar mental health implications in different populations globally. The purpose of this literature review is to describe bullying and its impact on youths’ mental health, examines the state of science on bullying interventions, and describes implications for nursing for addressing this problem. Methodology: Four international databases were searched for all English and Spanish language articles including youth bullying and mental health effects. Articles chosen for review included meta-analyses, and systematic and integrated reviews which focused on youth bullying and mental health. Discussion/Conclusions: Findings indicated that youths who differed from their peers in some way are at high risk of being a victim of bullying. Victims of bullying can display externalizing behaviors such as aggression, but more commonly display internalizing behavior such as withdrawal, and increasing suicidality. Nurses, in schools or other community settings, as well as primary and acute care are well positioned to help identify victims of bullying and to intervene, potentially reducing or eliminating the long term negative mental health effects of bullying. Future research should focus on groups likely to be bullied but not yet extensively studied, like lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender youth and those with autism spectrum disorders. More effective interventions are needed to decrease the prevalence of bullying and reduce the effect of bullying on victims.