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Developmental Relations Between Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation in Middle Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Do Internalizing Problems and Substance Use Mediate Their Links?

ABSTRACT: Previous research has suggested that bullying victimization is associated with higher suicidal risk among young people; however, the mechanisms underlying this relation have not been well examined. The current study aimed to illuminate the developmental links between bullying victimization and suicidal ideation by examining the mediating roles of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and substance use. The study sample consisted of n = 1465 participants (51.7% male) from the normative z-proso study. Using random intercept cross-lagged panel models and three waves of longitudinal data (ages 15, 17, and 20), the hypothesized mediation effects at the within-person level were tested while partialling out between-person confounds. The results suggested that, at the within-person level, bullying victimization did not predict subsequent suicidal ideation via depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, or substance use. However, age 15 bullying victimization predicted within-person increases in age 17 depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. In addition, depressive symptoms at age 15 and tobacco and cannabis use at age 17 were associated with within-person increases in bullying victimization at ages 17 and 20, respectively. The results also indicated that cannabis use and suicidal ideation were positively and reciprocally related over time. Future studies collecting data at multiple timescales are needed to understand proximal and longer-term mechanisms underlying the relation between bullying victimization and suicidality.

SUBMITTER: Zhu X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9279233 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:OBJECTIVE::To examine sex differences in the association between cyberbullying victimization and mental health (psychological distress and delinquency), substance use-related outcomes (drug and tobacco use, binge drinking), and suicide ideation among adolescents. METHOD::Data were obtained from the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS; 2013, N=10,272, grade 7 to 12). The sample for analysis included 4,940 students with a mean age of 15.1 years (43.3% male). A series of multi-level, binary, logistic regression models were conducted separately for female and male adolescents to quantify the strength of associations between cyberbullying victimization and study outcomes, after accounting for traditional forms of bullying and demographic covariates. RESULTS::Female adolescents reported significantly higher prevalence of cyberbullying victimization (once, 9.4%; twice or more, 13.3%) as compared with male adolescents (once, 8.3%, twice or more, 7.8%). Exposure to cyberbullying victimization was associated with an increased odds for psychological distress, suicide ideation, and delinquency among both female and male adolescents (adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.76 to 4.63); although, the effects were more pronounced in females. Among females, but not males, the odds of reporting psychological distress, suicide ideation, and delinquency increased (in a step-wise fashion) with more frequent exposure to cyberbullying victimization. Cyberbullying victimization was associated with an increased odds of adolescent substance use only among females. CONCLUSION::Adolescents exposed to cyberbullying victimization demonstrate an increased odds of poorer mental health, substance use outcomes, and suicide ideation. The current study reveals increased risk among female adolescents as compared with male adolescents. These findings lend support for the need to develop and evaluate targeted preventative interventions specifically tailored for female and male adolescents.

Project description:Sibling and peer bullying are reported as the most frequent forms of violence experienced across childhood. There is now ample evidence indicating an association between sibling and peer bullying, with those reporting sibling bullying at an increased risk of peer bullying. While there is convincing evidence of a causative association between peer bullying and a range of mental health outcomes, sibling bullying continues to receive far less attention. The aim of this study was to explore whether sibling bullying roles (non-involved, victim, bully-victim, bully) in middle childhood were independently associated with clinical diagnoses of depression and anxiety and reports of suicidal ideation and self-harm in early adulthood. We further tested whether there was a cumulative relationship between involvement in sibling and peer bullying victimization. This study was based on up to 3,881 youth from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a prospective birth-cohort based in the United Kingdom. Sibling and peer bullying was assessed via self-report when youth were 12 years of age, while depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harm were assessed via self-administered computerized interviews at 24 years of age. Involvement as a sibling bully-victim was associated with clinical diagnosis of depression (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.33-2.72), while sibling victims were at increased odds of both suicidal ideation (OR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.16-1.98) as well as suicidal self-harm (OR = 2.20, 95% CI, 1.36-3.58) in early adulthood, even after accounting for concurrent peer bullying and a range of other pre-existing childhood confounders. Sibling and peer bullying were further associated in a homotypic manner. A dose-response relationship of bullying in the home and school across mental health outcomes was found. Youth victimized by both their siblings and peers displayed the highest odds of developing clinical depression, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. Children bullied at home and at school had no safe place to escape the bullying and torment. Our findings highlight the need for intervention studies tailored toward reducing sibling bullying, as these may hold large promise for alleviating a range of adverse outcomes, including the prevention of peer bullying, which may be contingent on early bullying experiences in the home environment.

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Developmental Relations Between Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation in Middle Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Do Internalizing Problems and Substance Use Mediate Their Links?

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