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Bullying as a predictor of offending, violence and later life outcomes
David P Farrington1, Maria M Ttofi
1Institute of Criminology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK. dpf1@cam.ac.uk
Aim:
The main aim of this paper is to investigate to what extent self-reported bullying at age 14 predicts later offending, violence and other life outcomes.
Method:
In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, 411 South London males were followed up from age 8-10 to age 48-50, using repeated face-to-face interviews and searches of criminal records.
Results:
Bullying at age 14 predicted violent convictions between ages 15 and 20, self-reported violence at age 15-18, low job status at age 18, drug use at age 27-32, and an unsuccessful life at age 48. These results held up after controlling for explanatory and behavioural childhood risk factors at age 8-10.
Conclusions:
Bullying might increase the likelihood of these later outcomes. Interventions that decrease bullying would most likely be followed by decreases in violent offending, drug use, and unsuccessful lives.
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