Study: Cyberbullying Surpasses Offline Bullying as Suicide Risk Factor in Young Teens

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Cyberbullying is now a more significant suicide risk factor among young teenagers than offline bullying, a new study published in the JAMA Network Open medical journal revealed on Monday.

Researchers investigating the link between cyberbullying and attempts at suicide in adolescents 10-13 years of age found the association between them “was significant over and above other suicidality risk factors, including offline peer aggression experiences or perpetration,” the study said.

The study also found that unlike situations of offline bullying in which being either victim or perpetrator has been associated with suicidality, the perpetrators of cyberbullying are not linked to increased suicidality.

Female and black respondents were more likely to experience cyberbullying than male and respondents of other races, the study said.

Male and Black respondents were more likely than female participants and those of other races to participate in cyberbullying, the study also said.

The researchers’ findings can inform adolescent suicide prevention strategies, including routine evaluation of adolescents’ experience with cyberbullying by clinicians and educational staff, the study added.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology in Israel and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the United States, according to the study.