Long-term impact of being bullied at school on job satisfaction among middle-aged workers: findings from a 50-year prospective study of the 1958 British Birth Cohort.

Abstract

School bullying victimization may deteriorate job satisfaction as well as life satisfaction. This study assessed the effects of school bullying on job satisfaction in middle-age. We used data collected in 1965 (when the participants were aged 7 yr), 1969 (11 yr), and 2008 (50 yr), from a 50-yr prospective study of the 1958 British Birth Cohort. Bullying victimization was rated via parental interviews when the participants were 7 and 11 yr of age. A combined variable of bullying victimization (never, occasionally, and frequently) at these two ages was used. A self-reported questionnaire was administered to assess job satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, adjusted for possible confounders, were conducted to clarify the association between school bullying and job satisfaction later in life. Of 4,879 middle-aged workers, 43% (occasionally bullied: 28%; frequently bullied: 15%) reported bullying-related victimization. No significant association was identified between school bullying and job satisfaction when job satisfaction was treated as a continuous variable; however, frequent bullying was significantly negatively associated with job satisfaction when job satisfaction was treated as a binary variable. Experiences of school bullying were more strongly reflected in life satisfaction than in job satisfaction. Future studies should examine the mechanism of this relationship.