Children of Overprotective Parents most Bullied: Study

Children of overprotective, neglectful and abusive parents are more likely to be bullied, a latest research states.

The researchers at the University of Warwick, England, analyzed the data of 70 studies that involved over 200,000 children.

The results of poor parenting were evident more among children who were bullied and also threatened others than among those who were bullied and did not bully others.

The study also found that poor parenting leads to a moderate increase in the risk of children bullying others and a small increase in their risk of being bullied by others.

"Although parental involvement, support and high supervision decrease the chances of children being involved in bullying, for victims overprotection increased this risk," Dieter Wolke, one of the study authors, said in a university news release.

He explained that children need support but some parents try to shield their children from bad situations. "In the process, they prevent their children from learning ways of dealing with bullies and make them more vulnerable."

Wolke said that the children of overprotective parents may lag in qualities such as autonomy and assertion, and therefore can be easily threatened. "But it could also be that parents of victims become overprotective of their children. In either case, parents cannot sit on the school bench with their children."

The study authors also said that the parents who set forth rules regarding behavior and are also supportive had their children being least bullied.

"These parents allow children to have some conflicts with peers to learn how to solve them rather than intervene at the smallest argument," Wolke said.

He said that although bullying is a school problem but parenting plays a major role. Wolke suggested that intervention programs in families and schools would encourage positive parenting.