How to Handle Bullying

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Recent bullying links more strongly to depressive symptoms than overall exposure in a large UK study.

There is no particular age at which bullying is more harmful — what matters most is how recently it happened.

Children can recover from bullying over time—early action and prevention are crucial.

Most parents know that bullying is harmful. But a question that has lingered in research is when during childhood does bullying matter most. Does being bullied at age 5 leave as deep a mark as being bullied at 15? Does harm accumulate over years, or does it fade?

Our new study published in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry investigated the relationship of timing of bullying across childhood and adolescence, and the development of later depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood.

The study drew on data from over 6,700 children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a large UK birth cohort that has followed families since the early 1990s. Bullying was measured repeatedly between ages 4 and 16 using parent-reported questionnaires. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Mood and Feeling Questionnaire in the same young people from age 16.5 through to age 23.

Rather than simply asking "were they bullied or not?", we tested three distinct theories about timing: (1) that bullying accumulates, such that more episodes over more years means more harm; (2) that there are sensitive windows in development when bullying is especially damaging; and (3) that recency matters most, meaning that whatever bullying happened closest in time to when depressive symptoms were measured would have the strongest effect.

Across every age at which depressive symptoms were measured, the recency hypothesis won out. Bullying that happened closer in time to the depressive symptoms assessment was more strongly linked to depressive symptoms than bullying that had happened years earlier.

To put that in concrete terms: an increase in bullying at age 4 was associated with a modest increase in depressive symptoms scores by age 16.5, while the association for the same level of bullying at age 16 was roughly four times stronger; a pattern that held whether depressive symptoms was measured at 16, 17, 21, 22, or 23.

Critically, this doesn't mean early bullying is harmless. But the data suggest that the psychological weight of bullying diminishes over time, pointing to something researchers describe as resilience: the capacity of children to recover when bullying stops.

The clearest takeaway is about timing of support, not just the bullying itself. If a child is currently being bullied, acting quickly matters. The good news embedded in these findings is that the effects of past bullying appear to lessen with time, but the window of opportunity for intervention shouldn't be wasted.

This research supports the case for two types of action: preventing bullying in the first place through school-based programmes, and providing meaningful, early support from the moment bullying is identified, to support the child in their time of need; Not support that waits for symptoms to become serious, but scaffolding for recovery that begins immediately. If you suspect a child is being bullied, you can start by contacting the school and consult anti-bullying resources such as those provided by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, Young Minds, and the National Bullying Hotline.

A note on what the study can't tell us

The study has some limitations. The sample is predominantly White and based in one region of the UK, which limits how broadly the findings apply. Bullying was measured using a single parent-reported question, which may miss subtleties, especially as children get older and parents have less visibility into their social lives. The study also cannot prove causality; other unmeasured factors may play a role in the link between bullying and depressive symptoms.

How to Handle Bullying

Take our How Well Do You Understand Bullying?

Find a therapist to support kids or teens

A child’s mood is more likely to be affected by the most recent bullying events. Schools and families should aim for early and active support to prevent further bullying, help the child during this difficult period and pave the way for recovery.

This post was written by Sarah Bakirci, Ph.D. candidate, and Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Ph.D.

Bakirci, S., Smith, A. D. A. C., & Pingault, J. B. (2026). Timing effects in the association between childhood and adolescent bullying victimisation with late adolescence and emerging adulthood depressive symptoms. European child & adolescent psychiatry, 10.1007/s00787-026-03011-9. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-026-03011-9

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