B3100 - Peer victimisation during adolescence and its impact on wellbeing in early adulthood - 31/05/2018

B number: 
B3100
Principal applicant name: 
Claire Haworth | University of Bristol
Co-applicants: 
Jessica Armitage, Dr Lucy Bowes
Title of project: 
Peer victimisation during adolescence and its impact on wellbeing in early adulthood
Proposal summary: 

Understanding mental illness is a pressing area of research with the ultimate aim of helping individuals to remain mentally healthy across the life course. This study aims to explore factors that influence mental health and wellbeing by considering the role of bullying. Bullying by peers sometimes leads to later mental health problems. Our study will consider how bullying during adolescence can affect an individual’s mental health and wellbeing during adulthood. Wellbeing is a concept that encompasses positive states like happiness, optimism and life satisfaction. Helping to understand how wellbeing is affected by bullying will improve our understanding of how individuals can still flourish despite negative experiences.

Impact of research: 
The research is extremely timely due to the new data on wellbeing at age 23. This is a crucial life stage in which pressure to establish a family and career take place. Understanding ways in which individuals could flourish during this period could have a significant impact on their future mental health and wellbeing. Wellbeing also has significant implications for policy makers with nationwide surveys and the ‘What Works Centre for Wellbeing’ now in place to better inform decision-making and support communities, government and businesses in improving wellbeing. Thus, the present study aims to provide further support for the importance of wellbeing research and hopes to identify factors associated with wellbeing that need accounting for. If peer victimisation in adolescence is demonstrated to significantly implicate later wellbeing, experiences of peer victimisation should be considered when assessing an individual’s mental health and wellbeing. Additionally, targeting victimisation in schools could be an effective intervention to prevent poor outcomes and improve later wellbeing.
Date proposal received: 
Monday, 23 April, 2018
Date proposal approved: 
Tuesday, 24 April, 2018
Keywords: 
Mental health - Psychology, Psychiatry, Cognition, Behaviour - e.g. antisocial behaviour, risk behaviour, etc., Mental health, Statistical methods, Childhood - childcare, childhood adversity, Development, Psychology - personality, Social science, Statistical methods