The following is a summary of “Cyberbullying victimization and suicidal ideation among in-school adolescents in three countries: implications for prevention and intervention,” published in the December 2023 issue of Psychiatry by Peprah et al.
Despite high rates of cyberbullying in South and Central America and the Caribbean, little is known about its impact on suicidal thoughts among adolescents.
Researchers started a retrospective study examining the association between cyberbullying victimization and suicidal ideation among in-school adolescents in Argentina, Panama, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines.
They utilized cross-sectional data from 51,405 in-school adolescents. The association between cyberbullying victimization and suicidal ideation was estimated using hierarchical logistic regression analysis.
The results showed that 20% of adolescents reported cyberbullying victimization, and 21.1% reported suicidal ideation in the year preceding the survey. Among those who experienced cyberbullying victimization, 38.4% had suicidal ideation, compared to 16.6% among those who didn’t experience cyberbullying victimization. Adolescents with cyberbullying victimization had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation [aOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.77–1.98].
Investigators concluded that mounting evidence for cyberbullying’s link to suicidal ideation in youth urges schools and communities to prioritize anti-bullying measures and foster strong support networks.
Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-023-05268-9