Bullying and suicidal behaviors among urban high school youth.

PURPOSE: 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.