Research: Bullying can cause permanent mental damage for many children

New research shows bullying can cause permanent mental damage and for many children, the effects of bullying were worse than being abused.

Researchers looked through two large, long-term studies involving thousands of children. One staggering finding, among one large group of children, those who were bullied were 60 percent more likely to have mental health problems as adults, than those who suffered physical, emotional or sexual abuse. And among another group, the risk of mental health problems was nearly four times greater for victims of bullying than for victims of child abuse.

The study's authors say the findings underscore the need to take bullying more seriously as a public health problem.