The Contribution of School Victimization to Sadness, Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation Among Bias-Based and Non-Bias-Based Victims and the Moderating Role of School Climate

We examine whether students’ victimization (nonvictims, non-bias-based, and bias-based victims) relates to reports on sadness and hopelessness (SH) and suicidal ideation (SI) and how school size, ethnic and socioeconomic status composite, and school climate relate to these outcomes through multilevel analyses of the California Healthy Kids Survey (2017–2019; N = 2,569 schools; N = 1,025,876 students). Bias-based or non-bias-based victims experienced greater SH and SI compared to nonvictimized students. School climate negatively associated with both outcomes, yet positive school climate exacerbated SH and SI of victimized students, particularly those subjected to bias-based violence. The findings confirm the healthy context paradox, indicating that adverse effects may occur for violence victims in schools with more positive climates. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.