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Bullied to the brink : an investigation of students at risk for depression & suicidal ideation Bonanno, Rina Angela
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to gain a clearer understanding of why it is that some adolescents who are involved in bully/victim problems are more negatively impacted than others. Drawing from research in the areas of bullying, suicide, and exposure to violence, two theoretically derived models that seek to explain potential paths between involvement in bullying behaviour and depression and suicidal ideation were investigated. First, it was hypothesized that hopelessness would act as a mediator between victimization and suicidal ideation and second, that perceived social support would interact with involvement in bullying behaviour to predict depression and suicidal ideation. Additionally, it was predicted that witnessing bullying would be positively associated with both depression and suicidal ideation. Students in grades 8 - 10 (N = 399) completed self-report measures assessing involvement in bullying (as either a victim, bully, bully-victim or witness), type of bullying (physical, verbal, social and cyber), depressive symptomatology, suicidal ideation, hopelessness (general and social), perceived social support (family and friend) and moral disengagement. Results indicated that social hopelessness did partially mediate the relation between victimization and suicidal ideation. This finding suggests that a potential mechanism by which victimized students become suicidal is through victimization's impact on social hopelessness and that the more socially hopeless someone becomes the greater their risk for having suicidal thoughts. Findings also revealed that perceived social support had a buffering effect on the relation between victimization and depression/suicidal ideation such that victimized students with higher perceived social support reported lower levels of depression and suicidal ideation than did students with lower perceived social support. Additionally, results from the present study demonstrated a significant relation between all forms of involvement in cyber bullying (as a victim, bully, bully-victim and witness) and both depression and suicidal ideation. Finally, findings revealed that witnessing bullying was significantly positively associated with both depression and suicidal ideation, however, associations were more robust for those witnessing friends being bullied than those witnessing others being bullied. Taken together, these findings suggest potential risk and protective factors that help explain why some children involved in bully/victim problems are at greater risk for depression and suicidal ideation than other children.
Item Metadata
Title |
Bullied to the brink : an investigation of students at risk for depression & suicidal ideation
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2007
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Description |
The purpose of the present study was to gain a clearer understanding of why it is
that some adolescents who are involved in bully/victim problems are more negatively
impacted than others. Drawing from research in the areas of bullying, suicide, and
exposure to violence, two theoretically derived models that seek to explain potential
paths between involvement in bullying behaviour and depression and suicidal ideation
were investigated. First, it was hypothesized that hopelessness would act as a mediator
between victimization and suicidal ideation and second, that perceived social support
would interact with involvement in bullying behaviour to predict depression and suicidal
ideation. Additionally, it was predicted that witnessing bullying would be positively
associated with both depression and suicidal ideation. Students in grades 8 - 10 (N =
399) completed self-report measures assessing involvement in bullying (as either a
victim, bully, bully-victim or witness), type of bullying (physical, verbal, social and
cyber), depressive symptomatology, suicidal ideation, hopelessness (general and social),
perceived social support (family and friend) and moral disengagement.
Results indicated that social hopelessness did partially mediate the relation
between victimization and suicidal ideation. This finding suggests that a potential
mechanism by which victimized students become suicidal is through victimization's
impact on social hopelessness and that the more socially hopeless someone becomes the
greater their risk for having suicidal thoughts. Findings also revealed that perceived
social support had a buffering effect on the relation between victimization and
depression/suicidal ideation such that victimized students with higher perceived social support reported lower levels of depression and suicidal ideation than did students with
lower perceived social support. Additionally, results from the present study demonstrated
a significant relation between all forms of involvement in cyber bullying (as a victim,
bully, bully-victim and witness) and both depression and suicidal ideation. Finally,
findings revealed that witnessing bullying was significantly positively associated with
both depression and suicidal ideation, however, associations were more robust for those
witnessing friends being bullied than those witnessing others being bullied. Taken
together, these findings suggest potential risk and protective factors that help explain why
some children involved in bully/victim problems are at greater risk for depression and
suicidal ideation than other children.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2011-01-20
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0054472
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.