Bullying Good For Your Health - Study Shows

[Jaylock]

This was an interesting read on Time's health section that basically states if you are the one doing the bullying, it is good for your health.

The study followed 1420 children from the age of 9 to their 21st birthday to measure the effect of bullying, and while the children being bullied showed higher levels of anxiety and stress in their older years, interestingly enough the ones doing the bullying showed lower levels of stress and better resistance to diseases and other health problems.

My question is that if bullying is proven to give health benefits to the ones doing the bullying in the long term (into their young adult and adult years), is their actions justified?

Is there some basis for which bullying, maybe even mild bullying is acceptable?

Source:
http://time.com/96848/bullying-can-m...lly-healthier/

There’s no denying that being a victim of bullying can leave lasting psychological and social scars. Victims are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and problems in developing healthy social connections for years after the experience. But according to a new study, it gets even worse—the people bullying them may actually experience health benefits from their ruthless behavior.
William Copeland, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center, and other researchers report in the journal PNAS that bullies show lower levels of inflammation, a biological process linked to higher risks of chronic diseases such as heart trouble and cancer, while victims show spikes in the very inflammatory markers that could prime them for serious health problems. The results aren’t an excuse for bullying, says Copeland, but serve as a lesson for how social status can have lasting positive effects on health—as long as it doesn’t come at the price of hurting others.


Copeland and his colleagues took advantage of a database involving 1420 children who were followed from the age of 9 to 21, and who were tested at nine different times during that period. They were asked about their bullying experiences, and researchers took their blood to measure things like C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation that is an important for predictor of heart disease, among other ailments.
Victims of bullying showed the greatest increases in their CRP levels, compared to where they started, which wasn’t surprising, since inflammation can spike due to stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep—all of which bullying victims experience. The more often victims were bullied, the more their CRP levels rose. But the real shocker came when the scientists analyzed the CRP levels of the bullies. Their inflammation rates were lower even than those children who had never reported being bullied or being a bully. Bullying seemed to protect the aggressors from inflammatory diseases. “We found that the enhanced social status that came along with being a bully did seem to advantage them over time,” says Copeland. “That finding more than anything else surprised us.”


The fact that there are physical benefits to being the top dog socially—and that these effects are long-lasting—is an important message of the study. And it's not just bullying—other research has linked higher socioeconomic status to lower levels of inflammation. But what distinguishes Copeland’s work is the long consequence of this effect, which extended from childhood into young adulthood. “It shows the possibility of social interactions for positively affecting a person’s health,” he says. “It’s striking that we can still detect that effect down the road.”Clearly, there are ways to enhance your social status without threatening to pound your peers. Copeland hopes the study serves as an endorsement of more positive ways of promoting self-esteem and confidence: through athletics, extracurricular activities and other experiences that can help people feel good about themselves—and that don't come at the expense of others. Bullying shouldn't be its own reward.

I bolded and underlined a key part of the study.

[zEmini]

Improving ones self at the expense of others is never justified.

[Jaylock]

Improving ones self at the expense of others is never justified.

Oh im not condoning bullying, im just asking the question, if it is proven to be beneficial to ones health, can it be justified as long as its not over the top physically abusive bullying?

[TZucchini]

Is there some basis for which bullying, maybe even mild bullying is acceptable?

If someone is worried about their health, they should eat better and exercise.

[Deleted]

Don't think having one person improve his health by bullying one or even more people possibly ruining their health is a good trade off at all. Having a big dimwit punching others in the school yard ruining his fellow classmates grades isn't good for society. Treat your fellow countrymen with respect.

[Deleted]

Oh im not condoning bullying, im just asking the question, if it is proven to be beneficial to ones health, can it be justified as long as its not over the top physically abusive bullying?

Sounds sociopathic to me, idk.

[Dug]

Oh im not condoning bullying, im just asking the question, if it is proven to be beneficial to ones health, can it be justified as long as its not over the top physically abusive bullying?

No it's never justified and that shit wouldn't even fly later on. Their "older years" are what? Their early early 20s? What little benefit it provides will just crash and burn once the "real world" starts and you can't just bully everyone into submission anymore.

[Jaylock]

Don't think having one person improve his health by bullying one or even more people possibly ruining their health is a good trade off at all. Having a big dimwit punching others in the school yard ruining his fellow classmates grades isn't good for society. Treat your fellow countrymen with respect.

I specifically said physical abuse is unacceptable. But other non-physical forms of bullying.. if it leads to good health I see it more as becoming the "Alpha Male" of your school, social circles etc.

[Darsithis]

I specifically said physical abuse is unacceptable. But other non-physical forms of bullying.. if it leads to good health I see it more as becoming the "Alpha Male" of your school, social circles etc.

That's not healthy for the people around them.

You can still improve your own mental health without having to be a verbal dick to everyone around you.

[Arrashi]

Unless you commit suicide that is.

[Noomz]

My question is that if bullying is proven to give health benefits to the ones doing the bullying in the long term (into their young adult and adult years), is their actions justified?

ಠ_ಠ
Surely you're not that dim?

[Varitok]

ಠ_ಠ
Surely you're not that dim?

It sounds like he wants to be justified for bullying or having bullied before.

[Dezerte]

Lots of unethical and immoral things are good for you. But I see no justification for such acts, as it infringes on basic freedoms and liberty.

[Darkeon]

Shut up, Jay! Your threads are stupid!

Oh, that does make me feel better. Thank you, Jay. You can have your turn now.

[Misuteri]

From an alpha dog perspective it makes sense. From a competition standpoint it makes sense.

The problem is that what bullying is has continually be redefined. You rarely see the classic comic book villain bully kicking sand in the faces of people. What's now considered bullying in many cases would get you laughed out of society even 20 years ago.

You can't take the desire to be the best, top dog, leader of the pack out of people. Even when people that don't fit our mold of that and they're replaced, overthrown or supplanted losers will always feel bullied by the winners.

So, until you eliminate winning...

[Deleted]

I specifically said physical abuse is unacceptable. But other non-physical forms of bullying.. if it leads to good health I see it more as becoming the "Alpha Male" of your school, social circles etc.

The fear of getting punched ruins kids days when they walk to school even if they aren't going to receive a punch ever again. Girls are more prone to non-physical forms of bullying at least i think so from those around me who got bullied, you might actually get someone to believe they are stupid if you tell them that every day for years which will make them feel depressed.

It's not worth ruining someones mental or physical health. This isn't the 1900 century where such methods where acceptable.

[hrugner]

I would put money on them not having the causality flowing in the right direction on this one.

[Jaylock]

That's not healthy for the people around them.

You can still improve your own mental health without having to be a verbal dick to everyone around you.

I agree. I wouldn't ever engage in being a prick to someone at my school or social circles even if it was a known fact that my health would be improved. I'd rather work out, and eat healthy and engage in good wholesome activities instead (probably even more effective than bullying)

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So did I miss it or is there no link to the study or mention of the title in the article?

Also, it's just Jaylock Jaylocking. I wouldn't take it too seriously.

There is a link to the source, its above the quoted part (which is the article itself).

[Deleted]

Okay so found the study itself, for those interested http://www.pnas.org/content/111/21/7570.full.pdf

From what I can gather, is that yes there is an elevated rate, but it isn't close to what is considered dangerous/unhealthy levels +3 mg/l

[Deleted]

This is what I was looking for.

Trust me, I hate when articles don't link to research myself. Have to do the hunting oneself then