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The lasting impact of youth bullying exposure on adult labor market outcomes: An inter-disciplinary review of the literature.

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Title: The lasting impact of youth bullying exposure on adult labor market outcomes: An inter-disciplinary review of the literature.
Authors: Martinez, Matias1 (AUTHOR) matias.martinez.von.der.fecht@vanderbilt.edu, Hu, Qinyou2 (AUTHOR), Schaefer, Jonathan D.1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Developmental Review. Jun2026, Vol. 80, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subject Terms: *Group identity, *Attitude (Psychology), *Bullying, *Interpersonal relations, *Employment, *Labor supply, *Adolescence, Victim psychology, Mental health, Socioeconomic factors, Labor market, Medical care costs
Abstract: • Bullying victimization during childhood and adolescence has been linked to lower employability and wages during adulthood. • Wage penalties range between 1% to 25, and employment gaps reach 3–7% in midlife. • Our framework identifies four mechanisms: skills, social capital, identity formation, and biological embedding of stress. • Discrimination, stereotypes, diatheses, and individual susceptibility may confound the causal link. • Multi-level interventions and policy can mitigate negative effects. Higher direct and indirect exposure to bullying has been linked to long-term increases in healthcare costs, worse mental health, and poorer social relationships, as well as a reduction in human capital accumulation and economic productivity. Consequently, preventing and mitigating the long-lasting negative effects of bullying victimization has become a worldwide challenge for school and health policies. This paper reviews the evidence linking early-life bullying victimization to adult socioeconomic outcomes and develops an integrative framework to explain (1) how bullying processes emerge and are sustained during childhood and adolescence; (2) how they affect labor opportunities in adulthood; (3) the mediating roles of skill, social capital, identity, and mental health; and (4) how social structures as well as individual characteristics determined early in life (e.g., innate capacities, vulnerability and susceptibility) may operate as moderators or potential confounders. Our framework draws from theoretical and empirical work in education and labor economics as well as in clinical and developmental psychology. Our integration and synthesis of how the processes relate over time provide researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with concrete directions for future research and support evidence-based arguments for the continued development and improvement of anti-bullying programs by both schools and governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Education Research Complete
Description
Abstract:• Bullying victimization during childhood and adolescence has been linked to lower employability and wages during adulthood. • Wage penalties range between 1% to 25, and employment gaps reach 3–7% in midlife. • Our framework identifies four mechanisms: skills, social capital, identity formation, and biological embedding of stress. • Discrimination, stereotypes, diatheses, and individual susceptibility may confound the causal link. • Multi-level interventions and policy can mitigate negative effects. Higher direct and indirect exposure to bullying has been linked to long-term increases in healthcare costs, worse mental health, and poorer social relationships, as well as a reduction in human capital accumulation and economic productivity. Consequently, preventing and mitigating the long-lasting negative effects of bullying victimization has become a worldwide challenge for school and health policies. This paper reviews the evidence linking early-life bullying victimization to adult socioeconomic outcomes and develops an integrative framework to explain (1) how bullying processes emerge and are sustained during childhood and adolescence; (2) how they affect labor opportunities in adulthood; (3) the mediating roles of skill, social capital, identity, and mental health; and (4) how social structures as well as individual characteristics determined early in life (e.g., innate capacities, vulnerability and susceptibility) may operate as moderators or potential confounders. Our framework draws from theoretical and empirical work in education and labor economics as well as in clinical and developmental psychology. Our integration and synthesis of how the processes relate over time provide researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with concrete directions for future research and support evidence-based arguments for the continued development and improvement of anti-bullying programs by both schools and governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:02732297
DOI:10.1016/j.dr.2026.101269