The role of bullying victimization in youth suicide: A scoping review of empirical evidence

Abstract Background While bullying victimization is a well-established risk factor for suicidal ideation and nonfatal suicide attempts among young people, its role in suicide deaths remains poorly understood. This scoping review synthesizes empirical evidence on the prevalence and role of bullying victimization among children and adolescents who died by suicide. Methods Following PRISMA guidelines, peer-reviewed empirical studies were included if they examined bullying victimization during childhood or adolescence (≤ 21 years) among individuals who died by suicide. Searches were conducted across seven databases in October 2023 and October 2025. Of the 4,233 screened records, 32 studies met the inclusion criteria after full-text review and quality appraisal using the QUIPS and CASP tools. The included studies employed record-based (60%), qualitative narrative (28%), longitudinal cohort (6%), and online ethnographic (6%) designs. Results Among studies that systematically assessed bullying victimization, 29–55% reported its presence in the lives of deceased youth, compared with 0.1–22% in studies where bullying was documented only when spontaneously mentioned by informants. Record-based studies indicated that bullying victimization was more frequently documented among females, younger adolescents, and LGBTQ+ youth. Longitudinal cohort studies demonstrated that childhood bullying victimization increased the risk of suicide in adulthood, even after adjusting for individual and familial characteristics, although effect sizes were modest. Qualitative studies, often employing psychosocial autopsy methods, described bullying victimization as a persistent psychosocial stressor embedded within broader constellations of adversity, contributing to feelings of sadness, entrapment, and lack of belongingness. Online ethnographic studies found that hostile audience responses during live-streamed suicides function as cyberbullying and may exacerbate humiliation and hopelessness during acute crises. Conclusions Bullying victimization is an important yet understudied risk factor in youth suicide. Across study designs, it emerged as a long-term vulnerability of suicide embedded within complex psychosocial interactions. However, methodological limitations and inconsistent assessment constrain firm conclusions and calls for systematic, theory-driven, and technologically informed research to clarify the contribution of bullying victimization to suicide risk across development.