Do Bullies Die Young?

A longitudinal study of Montrealers would suggest that yes, yes they do.

For children being picked on in the schoolyard, there may be nothing more reassuring than the results of a new, mostly Canadian study about bullies. According to longitudinal data, children in Grades 1, 4, and 7 who exhibit aggressive behaviour are far more likely to get injured, sick, or need dental work when they are adults. The research team originally identified the kids by asking their classmates to nominate the kids in their class who were the most “mean and cruel” towards others, then followed about 4,000 of those kids into adulthood. Bullies were more than 44 per cent more likely to develop illnesses correlated with lifestyle, like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, alcoholism, and drug use. Not that that’s a better retort to a bully than, “I know you are, but what am I?”