Children who witness abusive behavior in the home are more likely to bully other children, and are at greater risk of depression and anxiety, a new study shows.

In comments to Reuters Health, Dr. Nerissa S. Bauer said she hopes parents who are experiencing violence in the home and who have young children “will consider the effects of the violence on the children. It can manifest itself in various different ways, one of which is actual physical bullying of other children.”

A number of studies have shown that children exposed to domestic violence are at increased risk of behavior problems, but there has been little specific research on bullying, noted Bauer. In many ways, she added, bullying mirrors abusive relationships between adults, in that it involves recurrent aggression by a more powerful person over a less powerful one, with the intent to harm.

In the current study, Bauer and colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle looked at the relationship between exposure to intimate partner violence and bullying involvement in 112 children aged 6 to 13. Half of their parents reported perpetrating verbal, physical or sexual violence against an intimate partner, or experiencing this type of violence, at least once in the past five years.

About one third of the children said they bullied other children in the past year, with girls more likely to bully others than boys. Nearly three quarters of the children said they had been victims of bullying by others.

Bauer’s team found that children exposed to intimate partner violence were no more likely to be victimized by others or to exhibit relational-type bullying behavior, meaning teasing or excluding others without physical violence.

However, they were more likely to be physically aggressive to other children, and were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety or depression.

“Teachers who deal with children who consistently bully others may want to consider circumstances in that child’s life including the home environment,” Bauer said.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, August 2006.