Culture & Society

Sibling bullying just as harmful as bullying at school

LINCOLN, NE -- A new study by researchers from Departments of Family Studies and Sociology at the University of New Hampshire revealed that the detrimental effects of bullying may not be limited to school campuses and playgrounds - it could also be just as damaging in the home. The study, 'Association of Sibling Aggression With Child and Adolescent Mental Health,' which was published in the latest edition of the Academy of Pediatrics' professional journal Pediatrics, concludes that even the mildest cases of aggression and bullying among siblings are just as harmful as those experienced at school.

Researchers found that that minimal bullying from a brother or sister can cause increased mental distress than those children who were not harassed by a sibling. They also concluded that children are more susceptible to greater mental distress due to sibling bullying before age 9 than they are as teenagers.

"The possible importance of sibling aggression for children’s and adolescents’ mental health should not be dismissed. The mobilization to prevent and stop peer victimization and bullying should expand to encompass sibling aggression as well," the Study's Conclusions

"The findings clearly connect sibling aggression with youth mental health difficulties,"  according to Dr. Susan Swearer, professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and co-director of the Bullying Research Network.