Understanding and addressing the lasting impact of bullying

October 1, 2025 by ttacinfo

Image of a student holding a notebook with the words "Stop Bullying" written on it

Current data highlight that bullying persists as a widespread and urgent issue that affects students’ sense of connection, emotional health, and academic achievement. The National Health Interview Survey, completed from July 2021 to December 2023, reveals that 34% of teenagers (ages 12-17) were bullied in the previous 12 months. This research highlights that bullying is not evenly distributed. It more frequently affects students facing social, emotional, or developmental vulnerabilities (Haile, 2024). For students who endured bullying within the past year, the emotional toll was profound; reported rates were significantly higher for anxiety (29.8%) and depression (28.5%) than non-bullied peers (Haile, 2024). Behind every bullying statistic is a student whose sense of safety, belonging, and emotional well-being is at risk, making it critical for educators to understand the full impact and to take action.

What is bullying?

In order to understand the impact of bullying and effectively address it, it is important to begin with how bullying is defined. Bullying is often confused with teasing, rude or mean behavior, or peer conflict. While these can be concerning behaviors, there is a difference between them and bullying based upon the level of intensity, repetition, and power imbalance. Bullying is not a typical peer disagreement; it is a form of victimization. Stopbullying.gov (2024) defines bullying as:

…unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.

In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:

An imbalance of power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even involving the same people.
Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.

Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

Why does bullying matter?

When bullying goes unchecked, it can leave a devastating and lasting impact on a student’s social development, mental health, and academic success. The impact on social development can include social withdrawal, severe mistrust, low self-esteem, and alcohol and/or drug abuse (Tzani, 2025). For many students, the emotional aftermath of bullying includes deep struggles with anxiety, depression, and self-worth. Girls may be more likely to internalize this pain through self-harm, while boys may externalize it through aggression or risky behaviors, including substance use and violence (Stopbully.gov, n.d.). Bullying can have a compounding effect on students experiencing other risk factors. While most students who are bullied do not become violent, research shows that ongoing, unaddressed bullying can lead to emotional distress and isolation, which, in rare cases, may contribute to extreme outcomes when combined with other significant risk factors (Taliaferro, 2020).

Bullying does not leave just emotional scars, it can result in physical harm including sleep disturbance, headaches, stomachaches, heart palpitations, and unexplained chronic pain. The resulting elevated cortisol levels from the stress are linked to impacts on the immune system and hormonal imbalance (Stopbully.gov, n.d.). Additionally, bullying impairs memory, attention, participation, cognitive function and problem-solving skills that can hinder long-term academic success. An estimated 160,000 students miss school on any given day due to the fear of bullying (Barrington, 2024). With such profound and long-term impacts, it is crucial to find effective interventions to address the damage that occurs as a result of bullying victimization.

What can be done?

School environments are uniquely positioned to address bullying because they are where students spend the majority of their time, which enables educators to serve as first responders. Current research emphasizes that the most impactful strategies for addressing bullying are multi-tiered, proactive, and community-driven. These interventions include assessments, safe and supportive environments, social and emotional learning, established anti-bullying policies, and family engagement (Schoolsafety.gov,2023). Additional strategies include fostering inclusive school cultures, increasing supervision, promoting student voice, and offering mental health support (Jones, 2025).

For educators, knowing the signs of bullying and how to intervene effectively can make a difference in the lives of students impacted by bullying. More information on ways to prevent and respond to bullying are included in the resources below.

Resources

References

Barrington, K. (2024, October 8). How does bullying affect a student’s academic performance?

Public School Review.

https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/how-does-bullying-affect-a-students-academic-performance

Haile G, Arockiaraj B, Zablotsky B, & Ng A. E. (2024). Bullying victimization among teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2023 (#514) [Report]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jones, E. W. (2025, August 13). 13 effective solutions to bullying in schools: 2025. Psychology for

Mental Health.