Purdue professor discusses the lasting impacts of bullying

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — One out of every five students between the ages of 12 and 18 in the United States are bullied, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

News 8 spoke with Miguel Sarzosa, assistant professor of economics at Purdue University, who explained how bullying affects a child’s development. 

“We have to understand that development is like an investment process, like when you have money in the bank…you get some money and you put money in and the next period you get more money,” Sarzosa said. “It’s like a savings account where you put money in and it grows. That’s exactly how we think about skill formation. You have some skills. You learn some stuff and those basic skills that you have help you learn new stuff so that you have new skills later on in life. The problem with bullying is that it disrupts this process”

Sarzosa says children who are bullied tend to grow to be adults who are more likely to be depressed, less likely to go to college, less satisfied with their lives and more likely to deal poorly with stressful situations. 

“Bullying needs to stop so that every child can grow without the fear of peer interactions derailing their skill accumulation experience, and thus grow up to be successful adults,” Sarzosa said.

Sarzosa adds that it’s “critical” for kids to start developing social and emotional skills early in life so they can avoid the negative impacts of bullying in the event they are targeted.