Sibling bullying is a serious problem. Wait, what?
By Debarati Choudhury and Sukant Khurana
Being victimized by bullies has been associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and self-harm. It is not known whether being the victim of bullying increases risk of psychiatric disorder when the perpetrator is a sibling. Sibling bullying is a specific type of aggressive behavior that is repeated over time, intended both to cause harm and to dominate. Several studies have provided evidence of an association between sibling bullying and increased depression and self-harm.
In this study (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/134/4/e1032.long), sibling bullying was assessed when children were 12 years with Olweus Bullying Questionnaire. Children were asked whether they had been bullied by a brother or sister at home in the last 6 months, responding “never”, “only ever once or twice”, “2 or 3 times a month”, “about once a week” and “several times a week”. Children were then asked to report how often different types of bullying had occurred, using the same frequency measures. Children were also asked to report how old they were when this first happened.
The results have been listed below:
1. Children who reported that they experienced sibling bullying were most commonly subject to non-physical bullying such as being called names or being made fun of by their sibling several times a week.
2. There were no differences in TYPE of bullying experienced by boys and girls.
3. In general, children who were bullied by siblings were more likely to be female and to have higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems at age 7.
4. In terms of family characteristics, bullied children were more likely to have an older sibling, specifically an older brother, and were more likely to live in families with 3–4 children.
5. More frequent sibling bullying was associated with lower social class.
6. Sibling bullying tended to occur in families with greater levels of domestic violence higher levels of maternal depression during pregnancy, and child maltreatment.
7. Children who reported being bullied by a sibling several times a week had more than twice the odds of depression and self-harm at age 18 years (or in early adulthood) compared with those who were not bullied by their siblings.
There is growing concern and awareness about bullying at school, at work, or by adult partners. In contrast, sibling bullying is neglected by researchers, clinicians, and policy makers.
Unlike peer groups, sibling relationships endure throughout development, with little opportunity for victims to escape. Because sibling bullying often occurs alongside inter-parental conflict and in families with poor parent–child relationships, it may be important to integrate siblings into child and family programs. Existing programs that target the sibling relationship more broadly should be systematically evaluated to determine whether they lead to a reduction in sibling bullying and psychological harm.
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About:
Debarati Choudhury is a student who worked extensively as a researcher with Dr. Khurana’s group on mental health awareness and evaluated seminal work in the field to help laypeople understand the scientific literature on depression.
Dr. Sukant Khurana runs an academic research lab and several tech companies. He is also a known artist, author, and speaker. You can learn more about Sukant at www.brainnart.com or www.dataisnotjustdata.com and if you wish to work on biomedical research, neuroscience, sustainable development, artificial intelligence or data science projects for public good, you can contact him at skgroup.iiserk@gmail.com or by reaching out to him on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukant-khurana-755a2343/.
Here are two small documentaries on Sukant and a TEDx video on his citizen science effort.