Background. Chronic exposure to stressors in childhood has been linked with heightened risk of developing symptoms of psychosis in both clinical and non-clinical populations. The association has been explicated with reference to developmental alterations in biological and psychological systems. One such stressor, being bullied in childhood, has been the focus of recent investigations. The current study endeavoured to systematically review the available evidence from studies purporting to investigate the association between childhood bullying and psychosis symptomatology. Method. A search of PubMed, Medline, PsycInfo, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science electronic databases, alongside manual searching and cross-referencing, was carried out. The quality of available evidence for and against the association was assessed using quality assessment tools found in the literature. Results. Meeting the study’s inclusion criteria were 30 studies (eighteen cross-sectional, twelve cohort). Longitudinal studies, by design, provided higher quality evidence – particularly those which examined specifically the association between the variables of interest. However, preselected key confounding variables were not always taken into account, highlighting that the association is not unequivocal and that further research is warranted. Cross-sectional studies provide lower quality of evidence (of greater variability) where severe limitations regarding the validity and generalisability of findings must be taken into account. Conclusions. Evidence suggests that the association between experience of bullying in childhood and onset of psychotic or psychotic-like symptoms of clinical and non-clinical severity is tenable. However, future research needs to re-examine the association while minimising methodological limitations including confounding variables and definitional issues. Establishment of an association warrants investigation of the mechanisms which potentially underlie it; the pre-existing, small research base on mediators and moderators of the relationships requires further attention.
We have developed the following database of research theses on bullying from all academic institutions in the UK and Ireland. The aim of this database is to assist those who are interested in the field of bullying and want to see what research has already been done. We have attempted to ensure that we have included all relevant theses here; but if there is an omission please let us know by emailing geraldine.kiernan@dcu.ie.
The database is here for information purposes. Those who want access to the texts of the theses need to contact the author, the relevant institution, or both.