Citation

Bang YR, Park JH. Australas. Psychiatry 2017; 25(4): 376-380.

Affiliation

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan, Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1039856217715987

PMID

28675054

Abstract

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.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescent; bullying; depression; psychosis; suicide