Speaker
Description
Bullying continues to be a serious problem in schools, with evidence linking bullying involvement to adverse health effects in children and adolescents (e.g., Ossa et al., 2023). While numerous media reports and some research have linked bullying to suicide (e.g., Hinduja & Patchin, 2010), the magnitude of this relationship remains unknown. Accordingly, this meta-analytic study investigated the synthesis of the results of existing research on the association between bullying experiences and suicidality.
A total of 46 independent studies (185,694 students), spanning from 1970 and 2014 (to be updated for the final presentation), were included in this meta-analysis. Data were converted into odds ratios (ORs) and the weighted effect size estimate was computed for each of three different bullying involvement groups: (a) victimized, (b) bullying others, and (3) bully-victim (i.e., being both a bully and a victim).
Results from the random-effects model revealed a significant overall weighted effect size for victimization experiences, OR = 2.22, indicating that victims were twice more likely to report suicidal experiences than those not involved in bullying. Further, suicidal experiences were not only associated with being a victim, but also being a bully or bully-victim, whereby bully-victims appeared to be at the greatest risk for suicidality, OR = 2.31, p < .001.
Overall, findings suggested that students involved in school bullying, whether as victims, bullies, or bully-victims, were all at greater risk for suicidality compared to students who had not been involved in bullying; highlighting the pernicious influence of bullying on children’s health and lives.
Keywords
School bullying, suicidality, meta-analysis, mental health
| Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: | Scientific |
|---|---|
| Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is | Quantitative method study |
