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A new study reveals that bullying does not only affect kids physically and emotionally, but also showed a declining test scores in their entire school experience. Bullied kids tend to show dislike in school and low confidence in their abilities, while the bullies are seen to be suffering, too.

The study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology looked into 383 kindergartens in the United States. There were 190 boys and 193 girls enlisted. Nearly a quarter of the population was found to have experienced chronic bullying during their school years.

Gary W. Ladd, author of the study and professor of psychology at Arizona State University, said that the good news in their study is that incidence of bullying goes down over time. The longer the kids stay in school, the less likely they will be bullied. Aggression starts to taper off once the kids set in high school.

In 1992, Ladd and his team started assessing the subjects of the study about their feelings about bullying, their interest in going to school and academic esteem. Teacher evaluations and standardized test scores were also noted.

The 24 percent that was found to have experienced bullying had lower academic achievement, greater dislike for school and lower confidence in their academic abilities. The study results showed that boys are more likely to be bullied than girls regardless of the age.

Bullied kids find it difficult to escape from school work. Ladd said that these kids could possibly find it hard to participate in class activities especially if the bullies are in the group or inside the classroom.

Ryan M. Hill, an instructor in the department of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at UTHealth McGovern Medical School, said that the study is exceptional and has shown the profound and varied effects of bullying. Hill added that the bullies are also suffering. Bullied kids and bullies need to be reached out to as bullying influences depression, suicide and other mental health problems.