Bullying is defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as any unwanted, aggressive behavior that is repeated multiple times and involves an imbalance of power. Researchers know that bullying can cause lasting damage—adults who were bullied as children are at greater risk for anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and further victimization.

But a pilot study by School of Education researchers Melissa Holt and Jennifer Green in the Journal of American College Health offers some cautious optimism for bullied students moving into college: although they remain at higher risk for anxiety and depression, many report an active social life, strong academic achievement, and a positive college experience. Although past bullying is a burden, college can give young adults a chance to start over. “The overall picture is hopeful,” says Holt, an assistant professor of counseling psychology.

“Nobody in the field had really focused on college as an environment,” she says. “Would entering college be a time of heightened risk? Or would the new environment offer students a chance to redefine themselves? Those were the questions we wanted to answer.”

Holt and Green, an assistant professor of special education, have studied the effects of bullying for years, but it was questions from parents that prodded them into this specific area of research. “We were doing some assessments of high school students who had been bullied, and their parents were asking us what to expect, if their kids would be OK when they got to college,” says Green. “We didn’t know what to tell them.”

Research has shown college entry to be a time of increased independence, and also increased stress. “There are great new opportunities,” she says, “but also new academic and social challenges, as well as identity adjustments.”

To see how past bullying might figure into the mix, the researchers surveyed by email 413 students at a large northeastern university in February of their first year. The results showed reason for optimism, with many students reporting strong friendships and a sense of belonging. “In contrast to studies of childhood bullying that find that child victims of bullying report lack of engagement in school and weaker peer relationships in general, our results suggest that previously bullied youth might be hopeful about their college experience,” the authors write.

The pilot study led them to wonder about specific patterns of adjustment: did some students adapt better to college, and if so, why? To answer this question, in 2013 they began a larger study, surveying students at four geographically diverse universities in the fall and spring of their first college year. The researchers are conducting follow-up surveys and in-person interviews with those same students, now seniors. The data, while still preliminary, have already offered some insight.

“We’ve started to find differences in the trajectories of students over time,” says Green, who says that a key to successful adjustment seems to be informal social support—the ability to make and keep friends during college.

Colleges have recognized this as well, and many are taking a more formal role in helping students form those critical social bonds during their first year. “There’s definitely a first-year experience movement afoot,” says Stacy Ulrich, director of Student Programs & Leadership at the College of Arts & Sciences. Ulrich directs FY101, an optional, one-credit class open to all BU first-year students. Classes, which meet once a week, include discussions about substance abuse and sexual assault, but also activities designed to help students form social bonds—like a low ropes course and weekend excursions around Boston. Ulrich says most classes start with students reporting their week’s highs and lows, and for many, that’s the most valuable experience. “It helps them realize that everyone is in the same boat,” she says, “that it’s normal to be homesick or to wonder if you’re smart enough to pass chemistry.”

FY101 classes are co-taught by an upperclassman peer mentor, which can give first-year students—including those struggling with mental health issues—a mature confidant. Such safety nets are important, Holt says, because students with a history of bullying may need extra counseling and support. “We hope colleges can increase their support services to attend to this bullying component,” she says. “It has not been on the radar of colleges to date.”