{"id":253925,"date":"2025-05-02T16:24:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T20:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=253925"},"modified":"2025-05-02T16:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T20:29:12","slug":"losing-a-parent-may-increase-childrens-risk-of-being-bullied","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2025\/losing-a-parent-may-increase-childrens-risk-of-being-bullied\/","title":{"rendered":"Losing a Parent May Increase Children&#8217;s Risk of Being Bullied"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-wider has-media-focus-left-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2121\" height=\"1414\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Elementary school students sitting on the steps and crying\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying.jpg 2121w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-755x503.jpg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2025\/05\/bullying-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2121px) 100vw, 2121px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Featured<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Losing a Parent May Increase Children&#8217;s Risk of Being Bullied<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">A new study found that female children, older children, and children in rural areas grieving parental loss were all more likely to be victims of school bullying.\u00a0<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar js-block-editorial-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">May 2, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/jillian-mckoy\/\">Jillian McKoy<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>Losing a parent or caregiver at any age is a traumatic and emotional experience, but when a child loses a parent, it can profoundly affect their development and well-being throughout multiple stages of their life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A new study led by a School of Public Health researcher found that youth who experienced the death of a parent were more likely to be victims of bullying.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0165032725004549?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Published in the <em>Journal of Affective Disorders<\/em><\/a>, the study surveyed 21,000 children in China and found that the association between parental bereavement and school bullying varied by sex of the child and deceased parent, age when the death occurred, and geographical area. Adolescents in rural areas, girls, and older youth (ages 13-17) were at higher risk of bullying after either parent died.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChildhood parental death is a major traumatic experience that significantly increases the risk of other adverse outcomes, including bullying victimization,\u201d says study senior and co-corresponding author <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/ziming-xuan\/\">Ziming Xuan<\/a>, professor of community health sciences and epidemiology.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maternal death raised this risk specifically among male youth, \u201csuggesting that maternal support may play a uniquely protective role in the lives of sons,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parental support can heavily <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/psychiatryonline.org\/doi\/full\/10.1176\/appi.ajp.2018.17070792?rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&amp;url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org\" target=\"_blank\">shape<\/a> children\u2019s physical, mental, economic, and social well-being, all of which can influence how they interact with classmates and navigate relationships in school.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the study, Xuan and colleagues from SPH and Kunming Medical University (KMU) in Kunming, Yunnan, China, utilized 2019-2021 data from the Mental Health Survey for Children and Adolescents, a large, ongoing study that assesses the mental health of more than 35,000 children in southwestern China. The participants were ages 10-17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the study group, nearly three percent of participants experienced a parental death and more than 15 percent reported that they were being bullied at school. The majority of parental deaths in China during this study period occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but an estimated <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamapediatrics\/fullarticle\/2795650\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">eight million<\/a> children under 18 worldwide have lost a parent or primary caregiver to a pandemic-related cause. In the US, more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/stories\/2023\/03\/losing-our-parents.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">four percent<\/a> of children up to 17 years old had lost at least one parent in 2021.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers hope this data informs tailored support for youth who are mourning a parent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEffective interventions to reduce the risk of school bullying among bereaved children should be multi-layered and long-term, addressing both emotional and social dimensions of support,\u201d says Xuan. \u201cThis can include personalized counseling, active involvement of remaining caregivers or extended family, and programs tailored to developmental stage and cultural context.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This support should also evolve over time, as children\u2019s needs change during the bereavement process, he adds. \u201cIn schools, educators and staff should be trained to recognize signs of grief and vulnerability and foster inclusive, empathetic environments. A warm, caring school climate can be especially critical in reducing the risk of bullying and promoting resilience among bereaved youth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study\u2019s co-lead authors were Hailiang Ran, a visiting KMU School of Public Health doctoral student in the Department of Community Health Sciences at SPH, and Jin Lu, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at The First Affiliated Hospital of KMU. The co-corresponding author is Yuanyuan Xiao, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics at KMU\u2019s School of Public Health.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Losing a parent or caregiver at any age is a traumatic and emotional experience, but when a child loses a parent, it can profoundly affect their development and well-being throughout multiple stages of their life.&nbsp; A new study led by a School of Public Health researcher found that youth who experienced the death of a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15205,"featured_media":253932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[5225,2439,2265,3887,3574],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[3519,3525,3526,3531,3540],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[194],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/253925"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253925"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/253925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253936,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/253925\/revisions\/253936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253925"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=253925"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=253925"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=253925"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=253925"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=253925"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=253925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}