Potential suicide ideation and its association with observing bullying at school

Ian Rivers*, Nathalie Noret

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: To explore those contextual factors that predict potential suicide ideation among students who observe bullying at school. Methods: 1,592 students of whom 1,009 who reported having observed bullying at school were surveyed from 14 secondary schools in the North of England. Role-related (not-involved, victim, perpetrator, 'bully-victim' and observer) and gender-wise comparisons of key variables were undertaken prior to hierarchical multiple regressions to determine those associated with potential suicide ideation. Results: Analyses indicated that students who observed bullying behavior were significantly more likely than those not involved in bullying to report symptoms of interpersonal sensitivity, to indicate greater helplessness and potential suicide ideation. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that, among boys, helplessness (β =.48, p <.001) followed by frequency of bullying perpetration (β =.11, p <.001), and a less supportive home climate (β = -.10, p <.004) were associated with potential suicide ideation. Helplessness was found to be the only variable associated with potential suicide ideation among girls (β =.49, p <.001). Conclusions: Perceived helplessness is significantly associated with potential suicide ideation among students who observe bullying at school.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)S32-S36
JournalJournal of Adolescent Health
Volume53
Issue number1 SUPPL
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Publication of this article was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The opinions or views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Keywords

  • Bullying
  • Helplessness
  • Observer
  • Suicide ideation

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