Psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts among adolescents victimized by school bullying.

OBJECTIVE

We conducted a cross-sectional school-based study to investigate psychiatric disorders and suicide risk among adolescents victimized by bullying.

METHOD

The study was designed in two stages. In the screening stage, 33,038 middle school students were screened for psychopathology. Next, in the face-to-face interview stage, 1196 participants were assessed for psychiatric disorders using a structured diagnostic instrument. We also collected information about the participants' experiences of bullying and history of suicidal ideation/attempts.

RESULTS

The results indicate that adolescents with a history of bullying victimization were more likely to be diagnosed with depression and psychosis than those without such a history. Multivariate logistic regression models revealed that bullying victimization was significantly associated with suicide attempts even after adjusting for demographic characteristics, depression and psychosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Bullying victimization is a risk factor for depression, psychosis, and suicide ideation and attempts. The findings warrant an early intervention and suicide prevention program for victimized students and anti-bullying policies in schools.