Peer Victimization, Depression, and Suicide Attempts: A Gender-Based Approach

Background:
Adolescents in the United States are at the greatest risk for suicide. Peer victimization, including school bullying, cyberbullying, physical dating violence, and sexual dating violence, is a significant risk factor of suicide among adolescents. However, relatively little research has examined which specific types of peer victimization are most closely linked to suicide attempts to develop prevention and intervention methods for male and female high school students. In addition, it is important to examine the gender differences in the relationships between specific types of peer victimization and suicide attempts. This study also hypothesized from prior research that depression would mediate the relationships between specific types of peer victimization and suicide attempts among male and female high school students. 

Methods:
Data were drawn from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior System Survey (YRBSS), a national survey with a representative sample of 15,624 high school students in grades 9–12. Independent variables are victimization through school bullying, cyberbullying, physical dating violence, and sexual dating violence; depression was a mediator; and the number of suicide attempts was a dependent variable. These were single observed variables, so a path analysis was used to test the structural path model using Mplus 7.0. In addition, a multiple groups approach was used to test the group invariance of the path model across male and female high school students.

Results:
The results showed that all four types of peer victimization were significantly associated with higher levels of depression, which in turn led to higher levels of suicide attempts for both male and female students. Specifically, the effect size of “victim of school bullying” on suicide attempts among females was greater than it was among males, but the effect size of “victim of sexual dating violence” on suicide attempts among males was greater than among females. In addition, depression partially mediated the relationship between each type of peer victimization and suicide attempts for females and males. The indirect effects of "victim of school bullying" and "victim of sexual dating violence" on suicide attempts through the mediation of depression were greater among females than they were among males.

Implications/Conclusions:
The findings have larger implications for early intervention programs in school and mental health settings. The awareness of specific types of peer victimization can help service providers or school social workers choose strategies that are more effective in reducing or preventing negative mental health consequences and suicide attempts for male and female adolescents. For instance, female adolescents who were victims of school bullying and male adolescents who were victims of sexual dating violence should be considered at high risk of suicide attempts.