Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in School-Based Mental Health and Violence Prevention at the University of Ottawa where she is cross-appointed as a full professor in Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education and the School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences. Dr. Vaillancourt is also a member of the Brain and Mind Institute, Faculty of Medicine and the Centre for Health Law, Policy, and Ethics, Faculty of Law, uOttawa. She is the president of the International Society for Research on Aggression, a fellow and Chair of the COVID-19 Task Force for the Royal Society of Canada, the Chief Editor, Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Child Mental Health and Interventions, and a Senior Fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
Abstract
Abstract Title
Derailed Potential : The negative impact of bullying victimization on child health and education
“For decades, school bullying has been considered by many to be a normal part of childhood, a “rite of passage” that can help to “toughen kids up” or “build character”. At the same time, common sense, often borne out of personal experience, highlighted that that being rejected, shunned, ostracized, or abused caused profound harm to targets. Bullying victimization, defined as a systematic abuse of power, affects 30% of children and adolescents worldwide. Although bullying interferes with all aspects of functioning, it has a notable negative impact on physical and mental health and academic achievement. In fact, longitudinal studies point to a causal relation between exposure to bullying and subsequent adjustment problems in these areas. Given the costs to victims, the reduction of bullying is an urgent global priority. School systems, worldwide, must protect children and adolescents from this insidious, pervasive issue, which derails potential.”