Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Thoughts Among African American Adolescents in Southside of Chicago: Emotional Distress and Neighborhood Conditions

Background

Numerous cases of victims of bullying taking their own lives have been reported in the media. The media publicity around the suicide of adolescents who are victims of bullying led to the assumption that bullying victimization leads to suicide. A growing body of research findings provides evidence that bullying victimization plays a significant role in children’s and adolescents’ suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Despite the significant relationship between bullying victimization and suicidality, victims at risk of suicidality frequently experience emotional distress, which would trigger suicidal thoughts and behaviors. A strong association between bullying victimization and emotional distress (e.g., depression and anxiety) has been reported in the research literature. Moreover, emotional distress, particularly depression and hopelessness, is among the strongest predictors of suicidal thoughts. The rates of bullying victimization and suicidality have reportedly been high among African American adolescents. For African American youth in low-income and low-resourced urban neighborhoods, suicidality might be a serious concern, given that high levels of internalizing problems have been reported among urban youth. For these adolescents, the linkage between bullying victimization and suicidality may be influenced by the condition of their neighborhood. The study aims to examine neighborhood conditions as a moderated mediated model of the association between bullying victimization, emotional distress, and suicidal thoughts.

Method

The sample comprised 414 African American youth (ages 12-17) in Chicago’s Southside. From 2013 to 2014, participants were recruited from four low-income neighborhoods consisting of predominantly African American residents. The participants were recruited from three high schools, one church youth group, two community youth programs, and four public venues. The participants completed the questionnaires in these locations, which took up to 45 minutes to complete. Variables included suicidal thoughts, bullying victimization, emotional distress, neighborhood conditions, age, sex, and receiving government assistance. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and multivariate regression analyses.

Result

The study found that bullying victimization was not directly associated with suicidal thoughts. However, bullying victimization was positively associated with emotional distress, which was related to suicidal thoughts. Moreover, emotional distress as a mediator of the association between bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts was observed when neighborhood conditions were a moderator.

Conclusions/Implications

Schoolteachers, social workers, psychologists, community centers, and church staff need to collaborate to deliver programming to increase information about bullying, including the risk and protective factors associated with this type of violence. Next, practitioners, such as social workers and school psychologists should consider screening the youth at risk for bullying to identify victims of bullying. Assessing youths’ vulnerabilities and the degree to which they have experienced bullying perpetration and feel emotional distress is critical. Also, suppose therapists have information indicating that youth might reside in potentially low-income/high-crime residential areas, such as neighborhoods with houses that have broken windows or windows with bars. In that case, they can benefit from being aware of such living conditions and taking them into account when planning appropriate interventions. Furthermore, cost-effective programs that are culturally feasible, easy to implement, and sustainable are needed.