Professor Shelley Hymel:

We have a problem in that we are just beginning to understand how this bullying and victimisation gets under the skin. To give an example, several studies have shown that kids who are victimised by peers or more generally show a blunted cortisol response. Their body changes. We exert cortisol for that fight or flight response under conditions of stress but kids who have been victimised do not. They exert less cortisol. This is only seen in victims of the Holocaust or repeated rape. It is a very major factor. If we want to create resilience, we really have to start thinking about the impact of bullying in making kids less resilient and how we can compensate for that. We do not have answers to that question yet. We are just beginning to uncover how difficult that may be for the child who is repeatedly victimised.