Adolescence is a time full of uncertainty and exploration. This stage of life is typically when an individual begins to establish the various components of their identity. A critical aspect of this process is the development of friendships and other peer relationships. Because adolescence has proven to be such a fragile period in an individual's life, it is reasonable to suggest that the process of forming quality relationships with one's peers is not always easy. It is not uncommon for a teenager to find themselves in a bullying situation, and our society has even begun to normalize these behaviors as "part of growing up." Adolescence is already an incredibly difficult stage of life, and bullying doesn't make it any easier. Furthermore, it is reasonable to ask whether people involved in bullying situations during adolescence suffer the consequences of these experiences throughout their lives, since it may have damaged their ability to establish quality relationships with their peers. The following article examines adolescent bullying experiences and their short- and long-term impact on mental health. My hypothesis is that those who are involved in bullying situations during adolescence will experience more negative mental health outcomes, as well as an overall negative perception of their quality of life, both immediately and later in life, compared to their peers who do not I am. The research studies contained in this article attempt to strengthen the assertion of this hypothesis. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In a study conducted at the University of Virginia, over 3,500 Virginia high school students were divided into different categories of bullying situations to help understand the various negative outcomes that occur due to bullying. The researchers divided the participants into four classes based on their personal experiences: uninvolved (65%), bullies (12%), victims (16%), and victims of bullying (8%). The study found that externalizing behaviors such as aggression, defiance, vandalism, and theft were more common among the categories of bullies and bully victims. On the other hand, internalizing behaviors such as anxiety, depression, and withdrawal were more common among the victim and bully-victim classes (Lovegrove, 2014). These findings indicate that all parties involved in bullying situations can experience negative mental health outcomes, and the role each plays in the bullying experience is related to whether or not the outcomes are internal or external behavioral problems. A study conducted in the United Kingdom aimed to examine the association between experiences of bullying and short- and long-term impacts on anxiety and depression. The study used 5,030 UK secondary school students aged 11 to 16. Students were asked to self-report their experiences of victimization and symptoms of anxiety and depression at three different time points over a one-year period. The study found that experiences of adolescent bullying were related to both immediate and delayed increases in levels of anxiety and depression (Stapinski, 2014). These findings shed light on the idea that exposure to bullying creates co-occurring anxiety and depressive symptoms, but that these symptoms do not necessarily disappear once the bullying situation has resolved. These short- and long-term effects of bullying on anxiety and depression highlight the need for early intervention to help prevent these adverse mental health trajectories from reaching their full potential. In a study published in the AmericanJournal of Psychiatry, researchers explored the long-term impacts of being bullied in adolescence. Participants were 7,771 individuals who were part of the British National Child Development Study, a 50-year cohort study that tracked participants from birth to adulthood. The subjects who made up this particular study were those whose parents reported that their child had been involved in a bullying experience during adolescence. Participants were followed between the ages of 23 and 50 and assessed for a variety of outcomes including suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety, alcohol dependence, psychological distress, socioeconomic status, quality of social relationships, and general health and well-being. The study found that individuals exposed to bullying during adolescence experienced greater psychological distress at various points in their adult lives, as well as higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Further findings suggested that victims of bullying lacked quality social relationships, experienced economic hardship, and had an overall poor perception of their quality of life during adulthood (Takizawa, 2014). These findings highlight the long-term impacts of adolescent bullying experiences on a wide range of life outcomes across the life course. Those who are bullied early on are more likely to have a reduced quality of life and suffer a wide variety of negative mental health outcomes and other difficulties. The Great Smoky Mountain Study examined how being involved in bullying situations, in any role, during adolescence contributed to a wide range of adverse outcomes in adulthood. The study used three cohorts of participants who were 9, 11, and 13 years old at the start of data collection. This study also used different classifications of bully roles within the given situations, such as bully, victim, bully-victim, or uninvolved. Participants and an adult caregiver were interviewed annually from age 9 to 16 years. At each intake, participants were asked to rate whether or not they had been a victim of bullying in the past three months. The participants were then followed up at ages 19, 21 and 25. At these levels, researchers interviewed subjects about their health, engagement in risky behaviors, wealth and social relationships. Police reports were also obtained to test the validity of participants' descriptions of their involvement in risky behaviors. After controlling for any adverse childhood experiences or psychiatric disorders, the study found that those who were involved in bullying situations during childhood in any role experienced more negative outcomes in terms of health and wealth, were involved in riskier behaviors and had more social problems (Wolke, 2013 ). These findings indicate that adolescent bullying experiences have the potential to impair a wide variety of aspects of an individual's life into adulthood. Both perpetrators and victims of bullying in adolescence are at risk of experiencing a worse long-term quality of life. A study published in the Journal of School Health aimed to establish a relationship between bullying experiences in middle school and suicide ideation and plans. The study used a US Center for Disease Control behavioral survey to conduct two cross-sectional studies among 1082 middle school students in a rural Ohio community. 43% of these students reported having been bullied at school and approximately 35% said they had..