Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Cyber Bullying and Physical Bullying in Adolescent Suicide: The Role of Violent Behavior and Substance Use

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The impact of bullying in all forms on the mental health and safety of adolescents is of particular interest, especially in the wake of new methods of bullying that victimize youths through technology. The current study examined the relationship between victimization from both physical and cyber bullying and adolescent suicidal behavior. Violent behavior, substance use, and unsafe sexual behavior were tested as mediators between two forms of bullying, cyber and physical, and suicidal behavior. Data were taken from a large risk-behavior screening study with a sample of 4,693 public high school students (mean age = 16.11, 47 % female). The study’s findings showed that both physical bullying and cyber bullying associated with substance use, violent behavior, unsafe sexual behavior, and suicidal behavior. Substance use, violent behavior, and unsafe sexual behavior also all associated with suicidal behavior. Substance use and violent behavior partially mediated the relationship between both forms of bullying and suicidal behavior. The comparable amount of variance in suicidal behavior accounted for by both cyber bullying and physical bullying underscores the important of further cyber bullying research. The direct association of each risk behavior with suicidal behavior also underscores the importance of reducing risk behaviors. Moreover, the role of violence and substance use as mediating behaviors offers an explanation of how risk behaviors can increase an adolescent’s likelihood of suicidal behavior through habituation to physical pain and psychological anxiety.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bolognini, M., Plancherel, B., Laget, J., & Halfon, O. (2003). Adolescent’s suicide attempts: Populations at risk, vulnerability, and substance use. Substance Use and Misuse, 38(11–13), 1651–1669.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borowsky, I. W., Ireland, M., & Resnick, M. D. (2001). Adolescent suicide attempts: Risks and protectors. Pediatrics, 107(3), 485–493.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brausch, A. M., & Gutierrez, P. M. (2010). Differences in non-suicidal self-injury and suicide attempts in adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(3), 233–242.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brener, N. D., Collins, J. L., Kann, L., Warren, C. W., & Williams, B. I. (1995). Reliability of the youth risk behavior survey questionnaire. American Journal of Epidemiology, 141, 575–580.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brener, N. D., Kann, L., McManus, T., Kinchen, S. A., Sundberg, E. C., & Ross, J. G. (2002). Reliability of the 1999 youth risk behavior survey questionnaire. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(4), 336–342.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brener, N. D., McManus, T., Galuska, D. A., Lowry, R., & Wechsler, H. (2003). Reliability and validity of self-reported height and weight among high school students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 32(4), 281–287.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cash, S. J., & Bridge, J. A. (2009). Epidemiology of youth suicide and suicidal behavior. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 21(5), 613–619.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Available at: www.cdc.gov/yrbss.

  • Cleary, S. D. (2000). Adolescent victimization and associated suicidal and violent behaviors. Adolescence, 35(140), 671.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cloud, J. (2010). Bullied to death? Time, 176(16), 60–63.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Compas, B. E., Hinden, B. R., & Gerhardt, C. A. (1995). Adolescent development: Pathways and processes of risk and resilience. Annual Review of Psychology, 46(1), 265–293.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deater-Deckard, K. (2001). Annotation: Recent research examining the role of peer relationships in the development of psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(05), 565–579.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deykin, E. Y., & Buka, S. L. (1994). Suicidal ideation and attempts among chemically dependent adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 84(4), 634–639.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, W. P., Marte, R. M., Betts, S., & Silliman, B. (2001). Adolescent suicide risk and peer-related violent behaviors and victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16(12), 1330–1348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fekkes, M., Pijpers, F., & Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P. (2004). Bullying behavior and associations with psychosomatic complaints and depression in victims. The Journal of Pediatrics, 144(1), 17–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fombonne, E. (1998). Suicidal behaviors in vulnerable adolescents: Time trends and their correlates. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 173, 154–159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gould, M. S., King, R., Greenwald, S., Fisher, P., Schwab-Stone, M., Kramer, R., et al. (1998). Psychopathology associated with suicidal ideation and attempts among children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(9), 915–923.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76, 408–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2010). Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Archives of Suicide Research, 14(3), 206–221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Houck, C. D., Hadley, W., Lescano, C. M., Pugatch, D., & Brown, L. K. (2008). Suicide attempt and sexual risk behavior: Relationship among adolescents. Archives of Suicide Research, 12(1), 39–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2009). Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2008 (NIH Publication No. 09-7401).Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

  • Joiner, T. E. (2005). Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juvonen, J., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2000). Peer harassment, psychological adjustment, and school functioning in early adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), 349–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y. S., & Leventhal, B. (2008). Bullying and suicide. A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 20(2), 133.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klomek, A., Marrocco, F., Kleinman, M., Schonfeld, I. S., & Gould, M. S. (2007). Bullying, depression, and suicidality in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46(1), 40–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klomek, A., Marrocco, F., Kleinman, M., Schonfeld, I. S., & Gould, M. S. (2008). Peer victimization, depression, and suicidality in adolescents. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 38(2), 166–180.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klomek, A., Sourander, A., & Gould, M. (2010). The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: A review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(5), 282–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klomek, A., Sourander, A., Niemela, S., Kumpulainen, K., Piha, J., Tamminen, T., et al. (2009). Childhood bullying behaviors as a risk for suicide attempts and completed suicides: A population-based birth cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 254–261.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumpulainen, K., Räsänen, E., Henttonen, L., Almqvist, F., Kresanov, K., Linna, S. L., et al. (1998). Bullying and psychiatric symptoms among elementary school-age children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(7), 705–717.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, N., Cortesi, S., Crowley, E., Beaton, M., Casey, J., & Nolan, C. (2012). Bullying in a Networked Era: A Literature Review. Berkman Center Research Publication, (2012–2017).

  • Li, Q. (2005). New bottle but old wine: A research of cyberbullying in schools. Computers in Human Behavior, 23, 1777–1791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, X. (2001). Bullying and being bullied: To what extent are bullies also victims? American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 351–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meltzer, H., Vostanis, P., Ford, T., Bebbington, P., & Dennis, M. S. (2011). Victims of bullying in childhood and suicide attempts in adulthood. European Psychiatry, 26, 498–503.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, K. J., Ybarra, M., & Finkelhor, D. (2007). The relative importance of online victimization in understanding depression, delinquency, and substance use. Child Maltreatment, 12(4), 314–324.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, S. L., Xu, J., & Kochanek, K. D. (2012). Deaths: preliminary data for 2012. National Vital Statistics Reports, 60, 1–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickerson, A. B., & Slater, E. D. (2009). School and community violence and victimization as predictors of adolescent suicidal behavior. School Psychology Review, 38(2), 218–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odgaard, E. C., & Fowler, R. L. (2010). Confidence intervals for effect sizes: Compliance and clinical significance in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(3), 287–297.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Cambridge, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, J. G., Raj, A., Mucci, L. A., & Hathaway, J. E. (2001). Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association, 286(5), 572.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Slonje, R., & Smith, P. K. (2007). Cyberbullying: Another main type of bullying? Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 49(2), 147–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. K., Mahdavi, J., Carvalho, M., Fisher, S., Russell, S., & Tippett, N. (2008). Cyberbullying: Its nature and impact in secondary school pupils. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(4), 376–385.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spirito, A., Mehlenbeck, R., Barnett, N., Lewander, W., & Voss, A. (2003). The relation of mood and behavior to alcohol use in adolescent suicide attempters. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 12(4), 35–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Orden, K. A., Cukrowicz, K. C., Witte, T. K., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2012). Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness: Construct validity and psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 24(1), 197–215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Cukrowicz, K. C., Braithwaite, S. R., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117(2), 575–600.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Gordon, K. H., Bender, T. W., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2008). Suicidal desire and the capability for suicide: Tests of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior among adults. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76(1), 72–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Nansel, T. J. (2009). School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45, 368–375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Nansel, T. R., & Iannotti, R. J. (2011). Cyber bullying and traditional bullying: Differential association with depression. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48(4), 415.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Windle, M. (1994). Substance use, risky behaviors, and victimization among a US national adolescent sample. Addiction, 89(2), 175–182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ybarra, M. L., Boyd, D., Korchmaros, J. D., & Oppenheim, J. K. (2012a). Defining and measuring cyberbullying within the larger context of bullying victimization. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51, 53–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ybarra, M., Mitchell, K., & Espelage, D. (2012). Comparisons of bully and unwanted sexual experiences online and offline among a national sample of youth. In Ö. Özdemir (Ed.) Complementary Pediatrics. InTech.

  • Zweig, J. M., Sayer, A., Crockett, L. J., & Vicary, J. R. (2002). Adolescent risk factors for sexual victimization: A longitudinal analysis of rural women. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17(6), 586–603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank and acknowledge Gaye Harrison and the I Sing the Body Electric (888-550-7464; www.isbe.org) coalition for their support of these analyses by granting access to their existing data.

Author Contributions

BL conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, performed the statistical analyses, participated in the interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript; AB participated in the design and coordination of the study, participated in the interpretation of the data, and helped to draft the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial/Organizational Psychology, University of Oklahoma, 455 West Lindsey Street, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Brett J. Litwiller

  2. Department of Psychology, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, KY, 42101, USA

    Amy M. Brausch

Authors
  1. Brett J. Litwiller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amy M. Brausch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy M. Brausch.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Litwiller, B.J., Brausch, A.M. Cyber Bullying and Physical Bullying in Adolescent Suicide: The Role of Violent Behavior and Substance Use. J Youth Adolescence 42, 675–684 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9925-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9925-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation