A third of Maltese students are affected by bullying, as victims or perpetrators, putting themselves at risk of mental health problems in adulthood, a small-scale study has suggested.

Speaking to the Times of Malta, the study’s co-author and head of the Department of Psychology, Carmel Cefai, said the study focused on one college comprising seven schools (both primary and secondary).

“We are still in need of an updated, comprehensive and rigorous study of the prevalence of bullying in Malta,” he said. “But this study gives us some indication of the situation in our schools. We also suspect that there’s a lot of unreported bullying, especially among students with a disability, LGBT and ethnic minorities.”

Prof. Cefai delineated a clear difference between fighting/aggression and bullying. For bullying to occur, it must be done in an intentional, repeated manner with the aim of harming someone physically or psychologically. There must also be a power imbalance.

Bullying can have very serious consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator which can last well into adulthood, Prof. Cefai stressed. “We used to believe that bullying was a childhood experience, in some cases even considered as a rite of passage. But it is not the case. The residual effects of bullying can leave a scar which lasts into adulthood, where it is translated into depression and anxiety.”

Perpetrators, on the other hand, were at a higher risk of antisocial behaviour and of offending later on in life.

“If we don’t help perpetrators while we have access to them at school, they will learn that the way to obtain things is through violence.”

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