Bullied students’ mental and physical health can be deeply affected by their bullies. In particular, researchers found that students who are bullied are more likely to have low self-esteem and experience psychological distress and loneliness than students who are not victimized (Suniti Bhat, 2008; Boultan, Trueman, & Murray, 2008). For instance, bullied students were found to possess higher levels of anxiety, sadness, depression, over-compliance and suicidal thoughts (Suniti Bhat, 2008; Beran & Li, 2007). Research also shows that victims are also more likely to be characterized as hyperactive and impulsive (Beran & Li). In addition, studies show that victims’ immune systems could be weakened substantially by the stress they are under when being bullied, making them more prone to illness (Suniti Bhat).
Grappling with powerful psychological and physical obstacles, bullied students’ academic performance can be negatively affected, causing them to underachieve. A survey of high school students conducted by Beran and Li (2007) found that victims who were bullied through cyberspace and/or at school, obtained lower grades and missed more days of school than those who were not victims (Suniti Bhat, 2008). Nishina, Juvonen, and Witkow (2005) found that as bullied students’ mental health dwindles, so does their performance in school due to their decreased concentration and attention span (Ma, Phelps, Lerner, & Lerner, 2009). Another study conducted in Korea by Yang et al. (2003) on adolescents found that bullied students’ GPA scores were significantly lower than other students’ GPA scores (Ma et al., 2009). Researchers relate this difference in academic performance to the “depressive symptoms [mediating from] being bullied” (Ma et al., 2009, p.629). In addition, victims have a hard time regulating their concentration and putting their energy on their schoolwork since they are preoccupied with avoiding their bullies (Ma et al., 2009; Boultan, Trueman, & Murray, 2008). On the other hand, since victims are more likely to be absent while trying to avoid their bullies, they miss out on a great deal of material covered in their classes. Therefore, they are not learning effectively and so their academic competence is negatively affected (Ma et al.; Boultan et al., 2008). Researchers also confirm that bullied students were significantly more likely to report not liking school and that they had higher rates of school avoidance compared to students who were not victimized (Boultan et al.). Furthermore, Suniti Bhat (2008) explains that cyberbullied victims were found to be more likely to get detention.
