Bullying and Suicide: Relationship is More Complex Than It Seems

Student bullying continues to make headlines throughout the country, and tragic stories of youth suicide are often linked to incidents of bullying. 

For this reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and violence-prevention experts conducted a research review, The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide: What We Know and What it Means for Schools, examining the complex relationship between bullying and suicide.

Bullying and Suicidal Behaviors: Background

The CDC defines bullying as unwanted, agressive behavior among school-aged children involving a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. 

"Bullying has serious and lasting negative effects on the mental health and overall well-being of youth involved in any way including: those who bully others, youth that are bullied, as well as those youth who both bully others and are bullied by others, sometimes referred to as bully-victims," the document said. 

Suicide-related behaviors include suicide, suicide attempt and suicidal ideation (thinking), and "any involvement with bullying behavior is one stressor which may significantly contribute to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that raise the risk of suicide."
 

So How Do School Staff Help Prevent Youth Suicide?

The CDC research review found that while bullying and suicide are linked, one doesn't necessarily cause the other.

"We know that most youth that are involved in bullying do not engage in suicide-related behavior," the report said. "It is [however] correct to say that involvement in bullying, along with other risk factors, increases the chance that a young person will engage in suicide-related behaviors."

Thankfully, there are plenty of resources schools can use to help prevent both bullying and suicide. CDC provided five key research-based facts and connected them with effective school responses and resources that can guide school policies and practices. 
 

1. Youth who feel connected to their school are more likely to refrain from suicide-related behaviors. Some ways to build connectedness include greeting students by name every day and encouraging them to participate in extracurricular activities that highlight their talents. 
   
   Resources: CDC's School Connectedness program and Applying Science, Advancing Practice: Preventing Suicide Through Connectedness
    
2. Youth who are able to cope with problems in healthy ways and solve problems peacefully are less likely to engage in suicide- and bullying-related behaviors. CDC recommends that schools teach youth coping and life skills and deliver positive and empowering messages. These messages will build students' resilience and their acceptance of differences in themselves and others. 
   
   Resources: Steps to Respect: Bullying Prevention for Elementary School
    
3. Youth with disabilities, learning disabilities, sexual/gender identity differences or cultural differences are most vulnerable to being bullied. To avoid this, schools should provide better training for all school staff. Schools also need to instruct teachers about ways to effectively intervene in bullying situations.
    
   Resources: Respond to Bullying; Bullying Prevention Training Center; Anti-Bullying and Anti-Cyberbullying Policies
    
4. Youth who report frequently bullying others are at high, long-term risk for suicide-related behavior. Young people who report both being bullied and bullying others have the highest rates of negative mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety and thinking of suicide. Youth who report being frequently bullied by others are at increased risk of suicide-related behaviors, as well as negative physical and mental health outcomes. 
   
   CDC therefore recommends that schools provide support and referrals for all students involved, including their families. Youth who act out by bullying others may be trying to convey a message of abuse or other types of stressors in their lives. It is crucial that school staff are able to spot these signs and get students the help they need. 
   
   Resources: The Roles Kids Play; Support the Kids Involved
    
5. Involvement in bullying in any way--even as a witness--can create feelings of helplessness. CDC therefore recommends that schools empower youth by creating concrete and positive ways they can influence school norms. Also, schools can encourage students to work in groups to raise awareness about the impact of bullying. 
   
   Resources: The Roles Kids Play; Be More Than a Bystander; Applying Science, Advancing Practice: The Bully-Sexual Violence Pathway in Early Adolescence

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor
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