Being bullied is a frequent and negative experience for many young people, and as such, it is something young people require support to cope with (Shaw et al., 2019). Parents and carers are often reported to be a source of social support for young people experiencing bullying (Fekkes et al., 2005). However, research has also identified that this support is not always protective (Noret et al., 2018). Understanding the reasons why this may be is crucial to aid our understanding of how best to support young people being bullied and their families. This project is based in part on our work examining bullying as a traumatic experience. As part of this project, parents completed a question on the impact of their child’s bullying experiences on them and their family. The results of this question highlight the profound impact bullying can have, and these findings have recently been presented at the World Anti-Bullying Forum 2023 in Raleigh, US. You can view and download a copy of the poster below.

Noret, N. (2023). “I feel guilty that we didn’t do more to intervene”: The impact of young people’s experiences of bullying on their parents’/carers’ mental health. Presented at the World Anti-Bullying Forum, October 2023, Raleigh, USA.

Karina Milligan also examined the impact of bullying on parents as part of her MSc, she presented this work at the Workshop on Aggression in 2024.

Milligan, K., & Noret, N. ‘Awful, mentally draining and heartbreaking.’: What is the impact on parent mental wellbeing of having a child be bullied? Presented at the Workshop on Aggression, 21st November, Nottingham. You can access a copy of this poster below.

Next Steps

The work on the impact of bullying on parents is going to be developed in two areas of research by Sarah Wild and Karina Milligan as part of their individual PhD projects. Parents are one of the main sources of support for children who are being bullied, but are often only considered as secondary figures in terms of bullying research . This limits our understanding of the impact bullying can have on parents and how they can actively support their children through this time. The aim of this research is to move the focus of this bullying research back onto parents as a central figure who may be affected by their child’s bullying and how they aim to work with professional bodies (namely schools) to best support their children. 

Sarah is developing this research further, to examine the impact of bullying on parents’ mental health, and you can find out more about this research here.

Karina is developing this research further, to examine how parents can be supported to manage their child’s experiences of bullying, and you can find out more about this research here.