Is Social Media Bullying a Causal Factor in Teen Suicide?
Several contempo studies have plant an association between bullying and low [
[i]
- Wang J.
- Iannotti R.J.
- Luk J.W.
- Nansel T.R.
Co-occurrence of victimization from 5 subtypes of bullying: Physical, verbal, social exclusion, spreading rumors, and cyber.
- Crossref
- PubMed
- Scopus (192)
- Google Scholar
] or bullying and suicide-related behaviors [
], and one study found evidence consistent with a causal link, at least for girls [
,
iv
- Klomek A.B.
- Sourander A.
- Gould A.
The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to immature adulthood: A review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings.
- PubMed
- Google Scholar
]. These studies, in conjunction with extensive media coverage of the deaths by suicide of several young people who were victims of bullying, led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to convene an expert console focusing on the human relationship between bullying involvement and suicide-related behaviors. The purpose of the panel, held in September 2010, was to synthesize the latest research nigh the relationship between youth involvement in bullying (youth who bully, youth who are bullied, and those who bully and are bullied) and suicide-related behaviors (attempts, fatalities, and risk factors associated with suicide, such as depression). Experts on the topics of bullying and suicide presented their research nigh the human relationship betwixt these ii behaviors; their piece of work is contained in this supplement. The panel and this special outcome provide clarity effectually the complicated bug of bullying and suicide amid youth. 3 key themes emerged: (one) bullying among youth is a pregnant public wellness trouble; information technology is prevalent and frequently has detrimental effects; (two) at that place is a strong association between bullying and suicide-related behaviors, but this human relationship is often mediated by other factors, including low and malversation; and (three) there are public health strategies that can be applied to the prevention of bullying and suicide.
Bullying: A Significant Public Wellness Problem
Bullying is a significant public health problem considering it is prevalent and harmful. Between 20% and 56% of young people are involved in bullying annually [
,
,
]. Thus, in a classroom of 30 students, between 6 and 17 students are involved in bullying as a victim, perpetrator, or both (nifty-victim). The specific rate of bullying victimization and perpetration varies co-ordinate to age, type of bullying, fourth dimension period over which bullying behaviors are assessed, and by subgroup. Younger (center school-aged) children are more likely to exist involved in bullying than high school-aged children [
[8]
- Robers S.
- Zhang J.
- Truman J.
Indicators of school crime and safety: 2011 (NCES 2012-002/NCJ 236021).
- Google Scholar
]. Verbal bullying is generally more than prevalent than physical or cyber-bullying and bullying is more probable to occur over a longer time flow—"always" or over the "past year" as opposed to "the past few months" [
[9]
- David-Ferdon C.
- Hertz Thousand.F.
Electronic media and youth violence: A CDC outcome brief for researchers.
- Google Scholar
]. Specific subgroups are more likely to exist victimized. For example, bullying victimization is more prevalent upon lesbian and gay youth—60% report victimization during the past 30 days prior to the survey compared with 28.8% of heterosexual youth [
].
For young people involved in bullying in whatsoever capacity—youth who bully others, who are bullied, or who both keen and are bullied, this interest is correlated with poor mental and physical health and appointment in other hazard behaviors. Youth who are bullied are more probable to be depressed or broken-hearted [
[11]
- Fekkes G.
- Pijpers F.
- Fredriks A.M.
- et al.
Do bullied children become ill, or practice ill children get bullied? A prospective accomplice study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms.
- Crossref
- PubMed
- Scopus (392)
- Google Scholar
], have lower academic achievement, written report feeling like they do not belong at school [
], have poorer social and emotional adjustment, greater difficulty making friends, poorer relationships with classmates, and greater loneliness [
]. Bully-victims are more than likely than those who bully, those who are bullied, or their uninvolved peers to report being physically injure by a family member, to witness family violence, and exhibit suicide-related behaviors [
[14]
- McKenna G.
- Hawk E.
- Mullen J.
- Hertz M.
The association betwixt bullying behavior and health risks amongst heart school and high school students in Massachusetts, 2009.
- PubMed
- Google Scholar
]. Those who bully others are more than likely to beverage booze and use cigarettes, to have poorer academic achievement and poorer perceived school climate, just to also report greater ease of making friends [
].
Involvement in bullying can also have long-lasting, detrimental effects months or even years subsequently the bullying occurs. Young people who are bullied are more likely than uninvolved youth to develop low and anxiety and report abdominal hurting and feeling tense over the grade of a school twelvemonth [
[eleven]
- Fekkes G.
- Pijpers F.
- Fredriks A.Chiliad.
- et al.
Do bullied children become ill, or practise ill children become bullied? A prospective accomplice study on the human relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms.
- Crossref
- PubMed
- Scopus (392)
- Google Scholar
]. Ane report examining the bear on of bullying victimization of those who were betwixt ix, xi, and 13 years of age when they were victimized found, that over a seven-year period, youth who were bullied were more likely to develop generalized anxiety and panic disorder as adults while great-victims were more likely to later on endure from depression, panic disorder, and suicidality [
]. Another longitudinal study plant that those who were perpetrators of bullying at historic period xiv were more likely to receive a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, to accept low chore status at age 18 years, and to use drugs at ages 27–32 years [
].
Association Betwixt Bullying and Suicide-Related Behaviors
The articles in this special issue generally testify a strong association between involvement in bullying behaviors and suicide-related behaviors. In Espelage and Holt's piece of work with center school students, suicidal ideation and attempts were significantly more prevalent amid victims, bully-victims and perpetrators, with rates of ideation and attempts among those involved as a victim, perpetrator, or keen-victims three to v times college than the rate of uninvolved youth [
]. Also, in Borowsky's written report of 6th, ninth, and 12th graders, one.two% of uninvolved youth fabricated a suicide attempt, compared with 5% for those who often bullied others verbally or socially; 6.v% for those who were frequent victims of verbal/social bullying; and xi.1% for those who were frequent bully-victims of verbal/social bullying [
]. In Kowalski and Limber'south paper, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, self-reported wellness problems, absences from schoolhouse, leaving schoolhouse because of affliction, and grades were, with only one exception, significantly related to students' involvement in cyber-bullying others, being cyber-bullied, bullying others through traditional ways, and being bullied through traditional means [
]. Those who witness bullying only are not directly involved are also at increased risk. Rivers and Noret [
] report that students who observed bullying behavior were significantly more probable than those uninvolved in bullying to report symptoms of interpersonal sensitivity (feelings of beingness hurt and feelings of inferiority) and greater helplessness.
However, the papers in this issue as well convey the complexity of the relationship between bullying and suicide-related behaviors. In Espelage and Holt's work [
], after controlling for delinquency and depression there was no increased risk of suicide-related behaviors for perpetrators; the increased hazard did remain for victims. Klomek's [
] comparison of young people with bullying involvement and psychiatric symptoms (low, suicidality, or substance use) at an initial screen to those with psychiatric symptoms but no bullying involvement found, at two-twelvemonth follow-up, that only perpetrators of bullying were significantly more than likely to exist functionally dumb than bullying-uninvolved students. In King'southward study of hospitalized suicidal youth, those who reported perpetrating bullying were more likely than uninvolved youth to have severe suicidal thoughts and psychosocial impairment, and to abuse substances. Nevertheless, at 12-month follow-upwardly, only the departure in psychosocial harm remained. Interestingly, over the form of 1-twelvemonth treatment for the suicidality, the rate of bullying perpetration declined [
]. In Karch's analysis of suicide fatalities among youth, bullying involvement was one of a myriad of factors precipitating a death by suicide. A quarter of young suicide victims had school problems, but only 12.four% of these school problems were attributed to bullying [
]. Other salient circumstances included depressed mood and/or other electric current mental health bug (37%); intimate partner problems (25%); history of suicide attempts (eighteen%); and substance corruption problems (sixteen%). Suicide attempts and substance use were gamble factors that co-occurred with suicide ideation in Borowsky et al. as well [
]. Across all groups (victims, perpetrators, and bully-victims) a history of self-impairment within the prior year and greater emotional distress (feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worry, stress, or pressure level) drastically increased risk for suicide. For victims and bully-victims, a history of sexual abuse, a mental health problem, or running away from home in the past twelvemonth increased the likelihood of suicidal thinking or behavior [
]. More half of the youth who were bully-victims and who expressed suicidal ideation or reported making an attempt also witnessed family unit violence, had a history of concrete abuse, smoked cigarettes, used marijuana, skipped schoolhouse considering of safe concerns, or carried a weapon at school. Youth who were involved in bullying and reported suicide-related thoughts or behaviors too had college hateful scores for distractibility/impulsivity and lower mean scores for parent connectedness, connection to other adults, perceived caring by teachers, perceived caring by friends, liking school, academic achievement, physical activity, perceived schoolhouse safety, and perceived neighborhood safety [
]. Across all three bullying-involved groups, parent connectedness (feeling like you tin can talk to mom/dad well-nigh problems; that mom/dad care well-nigh you lot) was protective for suicidal ideation and attempts. Other protective factors for victims included stronger connections to nonparental adults, stronger perceived caring by friends, and liking school. For bully-victims, greater perceived caring past friends was besides protective [
].
That there is a relationship betwixt bullying and depression and that this relationship may help to explain the human relationship between bullying and suicide is fairly consistent across papers. However, the direction of this relationship is unclear. Do youth who are bullied get depressed or are depressed youth more likely to be bullied? A study from the Netherlands suggests the answer may be "both." Researchers found that victims of bullying had significantly higher chances of developing new psychosomatic and psychosocial bug over the form of a school year compared with children who were not bullied. However, children with preexisting depressive symptoms or anxiety were also significantly more likely to be newly victimized over the class of the school year [
[xi]
- Fekkes M.
- Pijpers F.
- Fredriks A.Thousand.
- et al.
Exercise bullied children become ill, or do ill children get bullied? A prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms.
- Crossref
- PubMed
- Scopus (392)
- Google Scholar
].
Application of Public Health Strategies
Despite the complexity of the relationship between bullying and suicide, there is no doubt that bullying interest can have detrimental effects and prevention of bullying could improve health and mental health outcomes for many youth. The findings in these articles underscore the complication of the relationship between bullying and suicide. A critical difference distinguishes an association between bullying and suicide from a causal relationship, with significant implications for prevention. Conveying that bullying alone causes suicide at best minimizes, and at worst ignores, the other factors that may contribute to decease by suicide. This neglect may result in too narrow a focus of preventive activeness.
We echo the phone call made past others for an integrated approach to preventing suicide and youth violence by focusing on shared risk and protective factors including private coping skills, family unit and school social support, and supportive school environments [
]. Strengthening social connectedness and ensuring access to supportive adults may pay dividends in impacting both bullying and suicide behaviors. Supportive abode and school environments where young people feel connected are just one overlapping protective factor. Borowksy's findings regarding connection to parents, other adults, school, and friends reflect the need for multiple strategies that focus on both the school and dwelling environments and that move beyond the private skill-building level to foster supportive environments [
]. The case for a supportive environment on bullying and suicide prevention is supported past Hatzenbuehler's work. In the paper contained in this special issue, he reports findings that lesbian and gay youths living in counties with fewer school districts with antibullying policies that specifically mentioned sexual orientation equally a protected grouping were nigh ii times more likely to accept attempted suicide in the past year compared with those living in counties where more districts had these policies [
]. Williams and Guerra reported that youth who describe their school climate as beingness trusting, fair, and pleasant take lower interest in verbal, physical, and Cyberspace bullying perpetration [
].
As reflected in CDC's strategic management on suicide [
], approaches intended to build connections betwixt youth and school and home environments, likewise equally communities, are essential to suicide prevention. Sources of Strength is a schoolhouse-based suicide-prevention program that trains youth opinion leaders to change the norms and behaviors of their peers by conducting well-defined messaging activities with adult mentoring, too as increasing perceptions of adult back up for suicidal youths and the acceptability of seeking help [
[25]
- Wyman P.A.
- Brown H.
- LoMurray Grand.
- et al.
An upshot evaluation of the Sources of Forcefulness suicide prevention plan delivered by adolescent peer leaders in high schools.
- Crossref
- PubMed
- Scopus (221)
- Google Scholar
]. Recent work too supports the benefits of strengthening customs-wide connections to support prevention. As an instance, the Tennessee Lives Count youth suicide prevention initiative found that gatekeepers who reported a stronger connection to youth in their plan were well-nigh twice as likely to accurately identify suicidal youth. Similarly, the enquiry likewise indicates that the most effective bullying prevention programs are whole-school approaches. A meta-analysis of school bullying strategies concluded that whole schoolhouse approaches that included multiple disciplines and complementary components directed at unlike levels of school arrangement more than often reduced victimization and bullying than the interventions that simply included classroom-level curricula or social skills groups [
].
Although at that place is much we know well-nigh the prevention of bullying and suicide, in that location is besides much we do not know. European studies over the past two decades have demonstrated the effectiveness of school-wide bullying prevention programs. Yet, although similar studies have been undertaken in the United States, these results have not been replicated [
]. There is some promising bear witness that general youth violence prevention programs that set up school-wide expectations for positive behavior, such every bit Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support, as well decrease rates of bullying [
[27]
- Waasdorp T.E.
- Bradshaw C.P.
- Leaf P.J.
The impact of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on bullying and peer rejection: A randomized controlled effectiveness trial.
- Crossref
- PubMed
- Scopus (152)
- Google Scholar
]. More work is needed to place strategies that will forbid bullying from occurring amongst youth in the United states of america. In addition, we know that depression is a meaning hazard factor for bullying and suicide involvement, as well as a host of other health-adventure behaviors. We need to understand ameliorate how to promote mental well-being amongst young people and their families and how to do so in clinical and nonclinical settings.
Notwithstanding, given the prevalence and impact of bullying, it is of import to movement forward while these strategies are still existence developed. We can begin by implementing and evaluating strategies that take demonstrated effectiveness at increasing protective factors and decreasing risk factors associated with both bullying and suicide. It is not inevitable that bullying results in suicide; nor is it inevitable that bullying will occur in the first identify. Stakeholders in instruction and health should consider broadening their focus beyond only providing services to those who are already involved in bullying or suicide-related behaviors, just also in implementing strategies to preclude bullying and suicidal beliefs from occurring in the first place.
References
-
Co-occurrence of victimization from v subtypes of bullying: Physical, verbal, social exclusion, spreading rumors, and cyber.
J Pediatr Psychol. 2010; 35 : 1103-1112 -
Suicide and bullying. A review.
Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2008; 20 : 133-154 -
Babyhood bullying behaviors as a take chances for suicide attempts and completed suicides: A population-based nativity cohort written report.
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009; 48 : 254-261 -
The association of suicide and bullying in babyhood to immature adulthood: A review of cross-sectional and longitudinal inquiry findings.
Can J Psychiatry. 2010; 55 : 282-288 -
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth adventure beliefs surveillance—United States, 2011. MMWR, Surveillance Summaries 2012;61(no. SS-4). Available at: world wide web.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6104.pdf.
-
Suicidal thinking and behavior among youth involved in verbal and social bullying: Risk and protective factors.
J Adolesc Health. 2013; 53 : S4-S12 -
Psychological, concrete, and bookish correlates of cyberbullying and traditional bullying.
J Adolesc Health. 2013; 53 : S13-S20 -
Indicators of school crime and condom: 2011 (NCES 2012-002/NCJ 236021).
National Eye for Education Statistics, U.Southward. Department of Educational activity, and Agency of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 2012 -
Electronic media and youth violence: A CDC result brief for researchers.
Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 2009 -
Inclusive anti-bullying policies and reduced risk of suicide attempts in lesbian and gay youth.
J Adolesc Wellness. 2013; 53 : S21-S26 -
Exercise bullied children get ill, or do sick children get bullied? A prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms.
Pediatrics. 2006; 117 : 1568-1574 -
Bullying, psychosocial adjustment, and bookish functioning in simple schoolhouse.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005; 159 : 1026-1031 -
Bullying behavior among U.South. youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment.
JAMA. 2001; 285 : 2094-2100 -
The association between bullying behavior and wellness risks amongst middle school and high school students in Massachusetts, 2009.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review. 2011; threescore : 465-471 -
Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in babyhood and boyhood.
JAMA Psychiatry. 2013; 70 : 419-426 -
Bullying as a predictor of offending, violence and later life outcomes.
Crim Behav Ment Health. 2011; 21 : 90-98 -
Suicidal ideation and school bullying experiences after controlling for depression and delinquency.
J Adolesc Health. 2013; 53 : S27-S31 -
Potential suicide ideation and its association with observing bullying at school.
J Adolesc Health. 2013; 53 : S32-S36 -
Suicidal adolescents' experiences with bullying perpetration and victimization during loftier schoolhouse as take a chance factors for later depression and suicidality.
J Adolesc Health. 2013; 53 : S37-S42 -
Acutely suicidal adolescents who engage in bullying behavior: 1-year trajectories.
J Adolesc Health. 2013; 53 : S43-S50 -
Precipitating circumstances of suicide among youth anile 10–17 years by sex activity: Data from the National Tearing Decease Reporting Organisation, sixteen States, 2005–2008.
J Adolesc Health. 2013; 53 : S51-S53 -
Suicide and youth violence prevention: The promise of an integrated approach.
Aggression and Violent Behavior. 2006; 11 : 167-175 -
Prevalence and predictors of internet bullying.
J Adolesc Wellness. 2007; 41 : S14-S21 -
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Connection as a strategic direction for the prevention of suicidal behavior. Available at: http://world wide web.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicide_strategic_direction-one-pager-a.pdf.
-
An outcome evaluation of the Sources of Forcefulness suicide prevention program delivered by boyish peer leaders in high schools.
Am J Public Health. 2010; 100 : 1653-1661 -
A systematic review of school-based interventions to prevent bullying.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007; 161 : 78-88 -
The touch on of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on bullying and peer rejection: A randomized controlled effectiveness trial.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012; 166 : 149-156
Commodity Info
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Publication of this commodity was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The opinions or views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Identification
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.05.002
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc.
User License
Artistic Commons Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivs (CC Past-NC-ND 4.0) |How y'all can reuse 
Permitted
For non-commercial purposes:
- Read, impress & download
- Redistribute or republish the last article
- Text & information mine
- Translate the commodity (private utilize only, not for distribution)
- Reuse portions or extracts from the commodity in other works
Not Permitted
- Sell or re-use for commercial purposes
- Distribute translations or adaptations of the article
Elsevier's open access license policy
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirect- View Large Paradigm
- Download How-do-you-do-res image
0 Response to "Is Social Media Bullying a Causal Factor in Teen Suicide?"
Post a Comment