A study published in Canadian Journal of Career Development, examined the childhood environmental conditions of ten adult participants whose ages ranged from 26 years to 42 years.
Seven were female, and three were male participants. All were victims of bullying at some point in their youth.
An attempt was made to determine how these conditions, in combination with childhood victimization in the form of peer aggressions, impacted the selections made by the participants in regards to their employment and post-secondary educational choices.
"When children started teasing me, I probably only weighed five pounds more than I should have for my height. But kids seize on small differences. The tall child is a beanstalk, the short kid is a shrimp. By the time my weight became a problem — when I really was the fattest person (adults included) in school — I had long since given up weighing myself or caring. Making it through each brutal day became the only goal".
"When children started teasing me, I probably only weighed five pounds more than I should have for my height. But kids seize on small differences. The tall child is a beanstalk, the short kid is a shrimp. By the time my weight became a problem — when I really was the fattest person (adults included) in school — I had long since given up weighing myself or caring. Making it through each brutal day became the only goal".
-Rebecca Golden, author of "Butterbabe: The True Adventures of a 40-Stone Outsider" (Random House UK), lives and writes in Toledo, Ohio.
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According to the research most of the participants who were bullied chose their occupations, because of an interest in their field or a desire to assist others, rather than making their choices for financial reasons, or for reasons of familial pressure.
Read More on Fat Girl Story
According to the research most of the participants who were bullied chose their occupations, because of an interest in their field or a desire to assist others, rather than making their choices for financial reasons, or for reasons of familial pressure.
All but one of the participants of the study pursued post-secondary education, and eight even completed more than one degree or diploma in more than one area of study. In addition, all participants were currently employed.
"For me starting the blog was both a cathartic experience and also one I wanted to do to show that adults still feel the effects of the bullying. By sharing my stories from an adult perspective, I felt I could help others that felt the same way".
-Alan Eisenberg, now an adult and video producer and director in Fairfax, Va., is still affected by the bullying that took place decades ago. Both physically and mentally, he was attacked for his Jewish heritage, his last name and the emotional way he reacted to being bullied. He is now working on a documentary to tell his story and get the perspective of the people who bullied him with the goal of showing the long-term effects of bullying has on adults.
Read More on Bullying Victims Use Stories for Advocacy
"Growing up in Mexico, I was bullied for being poor, short and "el perrero"—the dirty dog boy. I wanted to create this video for the It Gets Better Project to let kids know that it really does get better. I encourage you to please share it with anyone you think it could help. Thank you".
-Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer
In addition, participants who had an elevated number of conditions that foster resiliency in their environment had diminished manifestations of the bullying on their future educational and occupational selections. In fact, all of the participants had elevated resiliency levels, all were employed, and most were currently pursuing a profession or educational endeavor for which they were passionate.
"Growing up in Mexico, I was bullied for being poor, short and "el perrero"—the dirty dog boy. I wanted to create this video for the It Gets Better Project to let kids know that it really does get better. I encourage you to please share it with anyone you think it could help. Thank you".
P.S. For those who bully others...
- One researcher to address this question is Dan Olweus who followed a small group of his Norwegian sample (15 victims, 56 non-victims, all males; 1993) and found that being victimized in grades 6 and 9 could be linked to greater depression and lower self-esteem at 23 years of age.
- Olweus also documented a connection between bullying and later criminality showing that 60% of those who bullied in grades 6 and/or 9 had at least one criminal conviction by age 24; 35-40% had three or more convictions (as compared to a group of non-bullying boys).
- Another research group in England asked boys about whether they were bullies at age 14, then 18, and then again at age 32 (18 year span) (25). The findings showed that about one in every five boys (18%) who saw himself as “a bit of a bully” at age 14 continued to report being a bully at age 32. A noticeable proportion of these adult bullies at 32 years of age was highly aggressive (61%) and had been convicted of violence (20%).
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