New research finds preemies more likely to be bullied

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A McMaster study warns that pre-mature babies born at extremely low birth weight are more likely to be bullied as children.

Researchers found that preemies who were picked on as kids were twice as likely to develop mental health problems like anxiety or depression or ADHD by the time they were in their 20s. By age 30, they were three times more likely to develop anxiety disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia and panic disorder and the more often they were bullied, the higher the rate.

Kimberly Day from McMaster University says they are more at risk of bullying because of things such as poor motor skills, lower IQ, poorer social skills and they also might have lower levels of the resilience factors that might put children who are normal birth weight better able to handle bullying.

Day says it’s important to note that while these children born at an extremely low birth weight are at risk for bullying,  it’s not an inevitable outcome and not every child who’s bullied will have a psychiatric problem as an adult.