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Sibling bullying increases risk for psychotic disorders threefold

Dieter Wolke

Longitudinal study findings indicated that individuals involved in sibling bullying during childhood were up to three times more likely to develop psychotic disorders in early adulthood than those not involved in bullying.

“Bullying by siblings has been, until recently, widely ignored as a trauma that may lead to serious mental health problems such as psychotic disorder,” senior author Dieter Wolke, PhD, department of psychology, University of Warwick, U.K., said in a press release. “Children spend substantial time with their siblings in the confinement of their family home and if bullied and excluded, this can lead to social defeat and self-blame and serious mental health disorder — as shown here for the first time.”

To determine whether sibling bullying in childhood was associated with the development of psychotic disorders in early adulthood, researchers examined data on 3,596 participants enrolled in a community-based birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Children completed a questionnaire on sibling bullying at age 12 years that asked whether they were bullied (victimization) or had bullied (perpetration) their brother or sister in the prior 6 months. The children underwent a semi-structured interview to assess psychotic symptoms at age 18 years.

Fifty-five (1.5%) participants developed a psychotic disorder. Of these, 11 participants were considered victims of bullying, six were perpetrators and 11 were victims/perpetrators. Children who reported being victimized by a sibling several times a week were nearly three times more likely to meet criteria for a psychotic disorder at age 18 years (OR = 2.74; 95% CI, 1.28–5.87), while those who reported bullying several times a week were also three times more likely to develop a psychotic disorder (OR = 3.16; 95% CI, 1.35–7.41). Furthermore, the investigators observed that both sibling and peer bullying had a dose-effect relationship with a psychotic disorder; children who were bullied in both contexts had a fourfold increased risk for developing psychotic disorder (OR = 4.57; 95% CI, 1.73–12.07).

“Our study adds that children involved in sibling bullying are at increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder. If causal, as suggested by our study, this highlights the need for parents and health professionals to identify and put into place mechanisms to minimize sibling bullying within families,” Wolke and colleagues wrote in Psychological Medicine. “Interventions that focus on social skill training of children and mediation techniques for parents have been found to be helpful in alleviating sibling aggression.” – by Savannah Demko

Disclosures: Healio Psychiatry was unable to confirm any relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.