What if the death of a parent affects not just the family, but also the playground? In an extensive study from China, researchers found that young people who grow up without one of their parents are more likely to be victims of bullying at school. And that effect is not insignificant. The risk remains elevated even when considering age, location, and other background characteristics.

More than 21,000 children and young people between the ages of 10 and 17 completed a questionnaire about their mental well-being and experiences with bullying. Almost 3% of them had lost a parent. That is a small group, but with a significantly higher risk: they were 1.4 times more likely to be bullied regularly. And not only that: if the deceased parent was the mother, if the child was a girl, if the child was older at the time of death, or if the family lived in the countryside, the risk increased even further.

That sounds logical and ironic. We have known for a long time that parental involvement plays a protective role against bullying. But in this case, it is not a choice or a parenting style—it is loss. A child who loses a parent often also loses stability, structure, and a confidant. And in the vulnerable phase of puberty and school formation, that can leave an extra scar, precisely where young people need support the most.

Of course, we should be careful with generalisations. This study took place in the Chinese province of Yunnan, which has its own social structures and large urban-rural differences. What applies in China does not automatically apply in your country or region. And the fact that this is a cross-sectional study—a single snapshot in time—also means that we should be careful with conclusions about cause and effect.

But at the same time, the signal is clear. Grief makes children more vulnerable, also to bullying. And this increased vulnerability cannot be neatly accommodated in our classic anti-bullying policy. Perhaps we should dare to think about more targeted support. Not only with psychological help for coping with grief, but also with an eye on the social dynamics at school. As the researchers themselves put it: “We are not aware of any existing anti-bullying program that specifically takes into account young people who have lost a parent.”

Abstract of the study :

Objective
Parental bereavement is detrimental to youth mental health, yet its potential impact on youth bullying remains unknown. We aimed to examine the association of early exposure to parental death with school bullying victimization, and further assess whether youth’s age when bereavement occurred, sex, and urbanicity modify the association.
Method
This study used a large multi-site sample (N = 21,489 youth aged 10–17) from the Mental Health Survey for Children and Adolescents in Yunnan Province, China, 2019 to 2021. Childhood parental bereavement data were based on self-report of any parental bereavement. Current bullying victimization was measured using the Olweus Questionnaire. Logistic regression model accounting for the survey design was used to estimate the association.
Results
597 participants (2.8 %) experienced a parental death. 3283 individuals (15.3 %) reported current bullying victimization in the school. Youth’s parental bereavement was associated with greater likelihood of bullying victimization (aOR 1.42 [95% CI 1.12–1.81]) and frequent victimization (aOR = 1.44 [95% CI 1.08–1.90]). Maternal death, girls, youth from rural areas, and those who experienced bereavement at older ages were more likely to experience bullying victimization. Maternal death was associated with elevated risk of bullying victimization among youth with parental death at older ages, boys, and youth from urban areas.
Conclusions
Early exposure to parental bereavement increased the risk of school bullying victimization and frequent victimization. The sex of the deceased parent, age when bereavement occurred, sex of youth participant, and urban-rural residence modified the observed association. Tailored interventions for youth who experienced parental bereavement could consider in addressing school bullying.