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.