The Relationship between Bullying and Suicide

1 The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide Bullying refers to aggressive behavior involving a perceived or real power imbalance. It includes making threats, verbal or physical attacks, deliberately excluding a person, or spreading rumors. Suicidal ideation means considering, thinking about, or planning for suicide, while suicide refers to death resulting from injurious behavior directed to oneself with the intention to die. According to Geoffroy et al. (2016), there is a link between peer victimization and the risk of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. Bullying and suicide have a complex relationship as the former does not always cause the latter. There are numerous risk factors for suicide.

Bullying causes or worsens feelings of rejection, despair, isolation, exclusion, anxiety, and depression, which contribute to suicide (Stopbullying.gov, 2021). The link between suicidal ideation and bullying is mediated by numerous factors, including abuse, depression, isolation, anxiety, low self-esteem, and poor school performance (Alavi et al., 2017). Therefore, the risk for suicidal ideation resulting from bullying is higher when co-existing risk factors are present.

Furthermore, the victims and perpetrators of bullying both face an increased risk of suicidal ideation and attempts (Alavi et al., 2017). Therefore, the association between suicide and bullying is complex and as the latter does not directly cause the former.

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Several resources are available to prevent bullying and help children who have been bullied. Stopbullying.gov provides research resources containing information on bullying prevention, including fact sheets, infographics, and research summaries. Youths, educators, communities, parents, and other professionals dealing with young people can use these resources to prevent bullying. Furthermore, the FBI Safe Online Surfing challenge is an informative program that educates students on online security and promotes cyber citizenship to prevent cyberbullying (Stopbullying.gov, 2021). Learning institutions can also implement school-based bullying prevention programs to protect the students from being victimized by their peers.

School personnel can help students to feel connected and encourage them to get involved in extracurricular activities, which provides support to those struggling emotionally and socially.

Schools can also teach coping skills to the youth, which promotes pro-social behavior and positive mental health. Schools can also provide support and referrals to children who bully others instead of just punishing them, as their actions may be a reaction to issues such as abuse or stress at home or school (Stopbullying.gov, 2021). Children can also use the BAM! Body and Mind resource to learn about bullying, its effects, and prevention.

Children who have been bullied can get help by calling 911 and other mental health support numbers to seek help from local counselors and get support. Those facing bullying at school should inform their teachers, school principals, or school counselors. If the school is unable to address bullying based on disability, race, gender, nationality, or religion, students can seek help from the state department of education, school superintendent, US Department of Education, or the US Department of Justice (Stopbullying.gov, 2021). Youth can prevent bullying by speaking up when they face victimization from their peers. They can also prevent

3 bullying by intervening when others are being victimized. Moreover, they can participate in antibullying initiatives in their communities or schools using the Youth Engagement Toolkit. Other resources for youth on stopbullying.gov include videos on the meaning of cyberbullying, what to do if they face bullying, and when others are being bullied. Overall, there are sufficient resources for youth to prevent bullying and help those who have been bullied.

4 References Alavi, N., Reshetukha, T., Prost, E., Antoniak, K., Patel, C., Sajid, S., & Groll, D. (2017).

Relationship between bullying and suicidal behavior in youth presenting to the emergency department. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26(2), 70-77.

Geoffroy, M.C., Boivin, M., Arseneault, L., Turecki, G., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Renaud, J., Séguin, J.R., Tremblay, R.E., & Côté, S.M., (2016). Associations between peer victimization and suicidal ideation and suicide attempt during adolescence: Results from a prospective population-based birth cohort. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 55(2), 99-105.

Stopbullying.gov. (2021). Resources. http://www.stopbullying.gov/resources/index.html