Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Behavior among adolescents in 28 Countries and Territories: A Moderated Mediation Model

Adverse childhood experiences, gender, and suicidality among Florida high school students: Examining intervening mechanisms

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) represent a key risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents. However, the intervening mechanisms linking ACEs and suicidality, and whether such processes vary by gender, remain underexplored.

OBJECTIVE

The present study examines whether the relationships between ACEs and the likelihood of experiencing suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide are indirect through depressive symptoms and low self-control. This study also investigates whether these direct and indirect paths might be moderated by gender.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The analyses make use of data on a statewide representative sample of students enrolled in public high schools in Florida (N = 23,078) from the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS).

METHODS

Generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) was used to estimate the direct and indirect effects of ACEs on the likelihood of suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide. The indirect effects were assessed using bootstrapping, and between-gender differences in the coefficients were tested.

RESULTS

ACEs has direct associations with depressive symptoms, low self-control, and both suicidality outcomes. The effects of ACEs on suicidal thoughts are indirect through both depressive symptoms and low self-control, and the effects of ACEs on suicide attempts are indirect through depressive symptoms. Limited gender differences in these pathways emerge.

CONCLUSIONS

For male and female youth, ACEs are associated with heightened depression symptoms and reduced self-control, and both of these factors partially explain the previously established relationship between ACEs and suicidality.

Social connectedness and adolescent suicide risk

BACKGROUND

Despite evidence of the importance of interpersonal connectedness to our understanding of suicide risk, relatively little research has examined the protective and buffering effects of connectedness among adolescents. The aims of this study were to determine: (a) whether overall connectedness (composite of family, peer, and school) and specific domains of connectedness were related to a lower likelihood of suicide attempts, and (b) whether these factors buffer the prospective risk of suicide attempt for high-risk subgroups (i.e., recent suicidal ideation and/or lifetime history of suicide attempt, peer victimization, or sexual and gender minority status).

METHODS

Participants were 2,897 adolescents (64.7% biological female), ages 12 to 17 (M = 14.6, SD = 1.6), recruited in collaboration with the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) from 14 emergency departments for the Emergency Department Screen for Teens at Risk for Suicide Study (ED-STARS). Suicide risk and protective factors were assessed at baseline; 3- and 6-month follow-ups were completed (79.5% retention). Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted, adjusting for established suicide risk factors.

RESULTS

Higher overall connectedness and, specifically, school connectedness were associated with decreased likelihood of a suicide attempt across 6 months. Overall connectedness and connectedness domains did not function as buffers for future suicide attempts among certain high-risk subgroups. The protective effect of overall connectedness was lower for youth with recent suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt history than for those without this history. Similarly, overall connectedness was protective for youth without peer victimization but not those with this history. Regarding specific domains, family connectedness was protective for youth without recent suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt history and peer connectedness was protective for youth without peer victimization but not youth with these histories.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large and geographically diverse sample, overall and school connectedness were related prospectively to lower likelihood of suicide attempts, and connectedness was more protective for youth not in certain high-risk subgroups. Results inform preventive efforts aimed at improving youth connectedness and reducing suicide risk.

Traditional, cyberbullying, and suicidal behaviors in Argentinian adolescents: the protective role of school, parental, and peer connectedness

Introduction

Bullying, both in person and online, is a significant risk factor for a range of negative outcomes including suicidal behaviors among adolescents and it is crucial to explore the protective effects of parental, school, and peer connectedness on suicidal behaviors among victims.

Methods

This study is a secondary analysis of the Argentina Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS 2018). Logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age and sex, determines the likelihood of suicidal thoughts and attempts among bullying victims. To explore the modifying effect of school, parental, and peer connectedness on the association between bullying and suicide behaviors, the interaction term was included. Sampling design and weights were applied in all analyses in STATA 17.

Results

The study included 56,783 students in grades 8-12, with over half being female. Adolescents aged 14-15 exhibited the highest prevalence of bullying, cyberbullying, suicidal thoughts, and attempts, with females displaying a higher prevalence in all measured categories. The study found that adolescents who reported being bullied or cyberbullied demonstrated a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide. Furthermore, protective factors such as school, parental, and peer connectedness were found to play a critical role in mitigating the adverse impacts of bullying and cyberbullying on suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Conclusion

The findings underscore the critical prevalence of both bullying and cyberbullying among school-going Argentinian adolescents and their profound association with suicidal behaviors. The study emphasizes the importance of supportive family environments and peer and school connectedness in mitigating the negative effects of bullying and cyberbullying on mental health and suicide risk among adolescents.

An Ecological Inquiry on Young People's Suicidal Ideation at University: Individual, Relational and Cultural Factors and Their Interactions

To understand the factors related to suicidal ideation in university students, we examined individual and microsystemic variables with an ecological model organizing bidirectional influences between different dimensions. Suicidal ideation, psychological distress, multidimensional self-concept, loneliness, community social support, life satisfaction, family functioning, bullying victimization, and problematic use of virtual social networks were measured in a sample of 376 Mexican university students (67% women) from 18 to 34 years of age (M = 20.8). Data were collected in March 2020, before mandatory confinement for COVID started in Mexico. Discriminant analyses showed that psychological distress, loneliness, self-concept, life satisfaction, family functioning, internet violence/rejection, and informal social support predicted belonging to high or no suicidal ideation groups with 88% accuracy. Only psychological distress and family self-concept predicted suicidal ideation in multilinear regression analyses. There were differences by gender in multilinear regression, with family self-concept significant for women and physical self-concept, but not family self-concept for boys. Conclusions: Early Suicide prevention in universities should include periodic screening of psychological distress, loneliness, and virtual social media use to identify students that need further evaluation and intervention. University-based strategies of mental health promotion that strengthen family relationships and the sense of community, including gender-sensitive orientation, could enhance the effect of protective factors.

Association of food insecurity and sleep difficulty among 189,619 school-going adolescents: a study from the global in-school students survey

Introduction

Adolescents' sleep disturbances are associated with chronic and dramatic physical, emotional, and mental development and school performance consequences. Although food insecurity could significantly contribute to these effects, few studies have explored the effect of food insecurity on sleep disturbances among adolescents. The study aimed to examine the relationship between adolescents' food insecurity and sleep disturbance.

Methods

Data on 189,619 adolescents were drawn from the cross-sectional global adolescent health surveys conducted between 2015 and 2018 in 35 countries and territories. Univariate and multivariable multinomial regression models were fitted to examine the hypothesized associations.

Results

Overall pooled prevalence of moderate [45.2% (95%CI = 43-47)] and severe [5.8% (95%CI = 5-6)] food insecurity levels were reported. About [52.6% (95%CI = 51-54)] moderate and [8.6% (95%CI = 8-9)] severe worry-induced sleep disturbances were found. Considering the fully adjusted multinomial logistic model, moderate food insecurity was significantly associated with moderate (AOR = 1.70 CI = 1.59-1.81; p < 0.0001) and severe (AOR = 1.63 CI = 1.42-1.87; p < 0.0001) sleep disturbances. Also, adolescents reporting severe levels of food insecurity had moderate (AOR = 1.88 CI = 1.68-2.11; p < 0.0001) and severe (AOR = 4.07 CI = 4.74-6.11; p < 0.0001) sleep disturbances. Females and those aged between 15 and 17 years and 18 or more were at higher risk of moderate and severe sleep disturbances in the context of food insecurity.

Conclusion

Reducing food insecurity could be an effective policy strategy for enhancing adolescent sleep quality.

The prevalence of suicide attempt and suicidal ideation and its relationship with aggression and bullying in Chilean adolescents

Background

Suicide constitutes one of the main mental health problems worldwide, requiring detection, and prevention efforts, especially in the adolescent population.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation and their relationship with aggressiveness and bullying in Chilean adolescents.

Materials and methods

The sample was composed of 728 adolescents schooled from Arica city: 56.6% were males and 43.4% were females. The students attended from de 1st to the 4th year of secondary. The average age of the sample was 15,6 years. The following instruments were used: Okasha's Suicidality Scale, Buss and Perry's Aggressiveness Survey, and the Social Acceptance (School Bullying) sub-test of the Kidscreen-52 Survey. A cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational design was applied. The sampling was non-probabilistic for convenience.

Results

18.4% of the students reported that they had attempted suicide and 65.6% reported that they had suicidal ideation. The prevalence of suicide attempts was higher than in male adolescents (29,1% vs. 10,2%), and the same prevalence was for suicidal ideation (76,6% vs. 57,3%). Suicide attempts and suicidal ideation were positively and significantly correlated with aggressiveness (r = 0.32, r = 0.48) and bullying (r = 0.37, r = 0.50).

Conclusion

The prevalence of suicide attempts and suicidal ideation is both higher in girls than boys. In this sense, girls constitute a risk group. In addition, this study provides evidence that supports the relationship between suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. The results highlight the role that educational institutions should have in terms of prevention and effective approaches.