Bullying and suicidal behaviors among urban high school youth.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether involvement in bullying as a perpetrator, victim, or both victim and perpetrator (victim-perpetrator) was associated with a higher risk of suicidal ideation or suicide attempts among a multiethnic urban high school population in the United States.


METHODS
In 2008, a total of 1,838 youth in 9th-12th grades attending public high school in Boston, MA, completed an in-school, self-reported survey of health-related behaviors. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between bullying behaviors and self-reported suicidal ideation and suicide attempts within the 12 months preceding the survey.


RESULTS
Students who reported having been involved in bullying as a perpetrator, victim, or victim-perpetrator were more likely than those who had not been involved in bullying to report having seriously considered or attempted suicide within the past year. When age, race/ethnicity, and gender were controlled, students who were victim-perpetrators of bullying were at highest risk for both suicidal ideation and suicide attempt.


CONCLUSIONS
Urban youth who have been bullied as well as those who have bullied others are at increased risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.
Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Lisa
L
Hepburn
Deborah
D
Azrael
Beth
B
Molnar
Matthew
M
Miller
D000293:Adolescent; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D058445:Bullying; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk; D013334:Students; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population