Healthcare professionals should be mindful that victims and victim-bullies may have additional health needs associated with risk-taking behaviour

Commentary on: Kritsotakis G, Papanikolaou M, Androulakis E, et al. Associations of bullying and cyberbullying with substance use and sexual risk taking in young adults. J Nurs Scholarsh 2017;49:360–70. • The effects of bullying and cyberbullying can be linked to a number of health risk behaviours, education and healthcare professionals need to include prevention and intervention strategies within educational curricula, building on replacing maladaptive coping strategies with adaptive responses. • Future research should explore the adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms employed by victims and victim-bullies during the transition to adulthood and how this impacts on their relationships