A University of Oxford research has raised concerns by unveiling that bullying during adolescence may trigger depression in later years.

For the study, researchers have used data from the United Kingdom's Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. In the study from which data has been taken, children of age 13 years were questions with regard to bullying, physical violence, threats, lies, rumors and exclusion.

From the results, it was found that children who have been subject to maximum bullying were twice more at risk of developing clinical depression at the age of 18 in comparison to those who have never been bullied.

Researchers are well aware of long-term effects of bullying. Therefore, they have pressed the need of having anti-bullying programs in schools for children as well as parents. Also, there should be programs for teachers who should be aware of what is going in class.

The study estimates that bullying might be responsible for around 30% of cases of depression among adults. Even after factors like behavioral problems, social class, child abuse and family history of depression were considered by the researchers, they found that those who are bullied at least once a week were more than twice as likely to be depressed when they grow up.

Study authors affirmed that the findings encourage parents, teachers and public health authorities to get serious on putting an end to bullying. “Depression is a major public health problem worldwide, with high social and economic costs. Interventions during adolescence could help to reduce the burden or depression later in life”, said researchers.