The Effects of Bullying on Health

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

A popular expression goes, "What does not kill us makes us stronger." But when it comes to being bullied, that may not be the case.

Increasing evidence suggests that the effects of being bullied do not end with childhood. The psychological and physical damage, such as anxiety and depression, can continue into adulthood.

A recent Duke University report shows that bullying can have permanent effects.

The report is based on research that began in 1993. The Great Smoky Mountains study observed 1,420 children from western North Carolina for years. The scientists followed the people as they went through childhood to teen years and into young adulthood.

The research showed that those who were bullied can develop long-term mental health problems as young adults. It also showed that adults who were bullied as children have higher levels of C-reactive protein, or CRP. CRP is a sign of nervous tension on the body. Higher levels of CRP usually mean health problems later in life.

The Great Smoky Mountains study also found something completely new about bullying. It seems that the bullies were healthier than the bullied – at least when talking about CRP levels. The study found that those subjects who had never been bullied, but had bullied others, had the lowest levels of CRP.

William Copeland led the study. He is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina. He says a higher social standing for bullies might explain their lower CRP levels.

Experts on bullying worry about that message. Catherine Bradshaw is deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence in Baltimore, Maryland. She warns that lower CRP levels might just represent a difference in the bullies' basic biology. Ms. Bradshaw says that a health gain should not be understood as permission to bully.

Mr. Copeland says bullying is a serious childhood experience that is no longer found only at schools and on playgrounds. Online or cyberbullying can make even a child's home feel unsafe. Some children who are bullied have killed themselves. Sometimes bullies even kill their victims.

Mexico's president is dealing with such a tragedy now. A 12-year old boy died last month a week after he was physically bullied at school.

The family of Hector Alejandro Mendez Ramirez say that bullies threw the boy into a wall. He died later of head injuries. Mr. Pena Nieto has sworn to fight bullying in Mexican schools.

And that's the Health Report. I'm Anna Matteo.

词汇解析

anxiety

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.焦虑;担心;渴望

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

They show great anxiety concerning their retirement allowance.

他们对自己的养老金问题显得十分焦虑。

His anxiety for knowledge is to be praised.

他对知识的渴求应该受到称赞。

permanent

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

adj.永久的;持久的

n.<口> 烫发

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

The incident left permanent traces on his mind.

那件事在他头脑里留下了永久的印象。

These factors usually have a longer and more permanent impact on share prices.

这项因素通常会对股价产生更加长远和持久的影响。

tension

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.紧张;拉力;张力;紧张状态;[电]电压

vt.使拉紧;使绷紧

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

A leather loop that slides to change the tension on the cord of a drum.

滑动皮环通过滑动以改变鼓弦张力的皮环

Tension mounted as we waited for the exam results to be published.

我们在等待公布考试结果时气氛越来越紧张。

lower

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

adj.低的;下级的;下层的

v.降低;减弱;跌落

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

The lower level is subordinate to the higher level.

下级服从上级。

用作动词 (v.)

Examinations also lower the standards of teaching.

考试也使教学水平降低。

deputy

难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词

英汉解释

n.代表;副手;议员

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

My younger brother is my deputy during my absence.

我不在时，我弟弟代表我。

tragedy

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.悲剧;灾难;惨事

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

This recent tragedy has put the manufacturersof the drug squarely in the dock.

新近发生的这一悲惨事件使药品厂商受到指控。

It was a tragedy that she died so young.

她这么年轻就去世，真是太不幸了。