Youngsters who experience bullying more likely to fantasise about violence

According to the findings of a new study, experiencing bullying and forms of aggression in late adolescence and early adulthood is linked to a marked increase in the likelihood of having daydreams or fantasies about hurting or killing people.

While research has shown that significant numbers of people fantasise about inflicting harm, little is known about the processes behind such “violent ideations”. A team led by a University of Cambridge professor tracked the self-reported thoughts and experiences of 1,465 young people from schools across Zurich at the ages of 15, 17 and 20. Researchers gathered data on whether violent thoughts had occurred in the last 30 days, and the types of bullying or aggression experienced over the last 12 months. They used questionnaires to probe the levels of aggression (humiliation, beatings, murder) and imagined targets (strangers, friends) within young people’s darkest fantasies.

The team also asked about experiences of 23 forms of “victimisation”, such as taunts, physical attacks and sexual harassment by peers, aggressive parenting - yelling, slapping and so on - and dating violence.

While the majority of teenagers had been victimised in at least one way, experiencing a range of mistreatment was “closely associated” with a higher likelihood of thinking about killing, attacking or humiliating others. Boys were more prone to violent thinking in general.