NCJ Number
242661
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 41 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2013 Pages: 53-59
Date Published
February 2013
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether bullying victimization and the victim's gender are related to two mental health conditions: depression and suicide ideation.
Abstract
This examination of the bullying victimization experiences of 1,874 adolescents found that males were more frequently physically and verbally victimized by bullying than females. Although the prevalence of bullying victimization was greater for males than females, the mental health challenges experienced by females was linked to significantly higher levels of depression and suicide ideation than for males. A comparison of students who were bullied with those who were not, showed that bullied students experienced significantly greater levels of depression and suicide ideation. These relationships were repeated across gender, suggesting that males and females who are bullying victims are both at an elevated risk of mental health problems. Female victims of cyber bullying experienced higher levels of depression compared to male victims of cyber bullying. The findings indicate the need to identify types of bullying experienced by a victim and to address the resulting mental health effects by gender. The study was conducted in October 2008 by administrators in the Iredell-Statesville School System in central North Carolina. A Needs Assessment evaluated the physical, social, and mental well-being of the students in 6th through 12th grades across middle and high schools. The demographic characteristics of the full sample were consistent with school population parameters at the secondary level. Three types of bullying victimization were examined in the study: physical, verbal, and cyber. 6 tables and 50 references