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. 2022 Dec;61(12):1435-1444.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2022.04.011. Epub 2022 Apr 27.

National Trends and Disparities in Bullying and Suicidal Behavior Across Demographic Subgroups of US Adolescents

Noah T Kreski  1 , Qixuan Chen  2 , Mark Olfson  3 , Magdalena Cerdá  4 , Silvia S Martins  2 , Pia M Mauro  2 , Deborah S Hasin  3 , Katherine M Keyes  2
Affiliations

National Trends and Disparities in Bullying and Suicidal Behavior Across Demographic Subgroups of US Adolescents

Noah T Kreski et al. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: Suicidal behavior and bullying victimization are important indicators of adolescent psychological distress, and are patterned by sex, race/ethnicity and sexual identity. This study aimed to estimate trends and disparities in these factors along with key demographics.

Method: Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (2015-2019, N = 44,066) were collected biennially through national cross-sectional surveys of US school-attending adolescents. Survey-weighted logistic regressions examined disparities in past-year bullying and suicidal behavior, overall and by demographics.

Results: Bullying in 2019 was highest for female (vs male) students (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.62, 2.06), American Indian/Alaskan Native (vs White) students (OR = 1.48, 95% 0.91, 2.41, p > .05), and gay/lesbian (vs heterosexual) students (OR = 2.81, 95% CI = 2.07, 3.81). Suicidal behavior disparities affected similar groups. There was minimal evidence for shifts in disparities since 2015, with the exception of bullying for gay/lesbian adolescents. The prevalence of bullying victimization among gay and lesbian adolescents went from 31.6% to 44.5% between 2015 and 2019, surpassing the bisexual and "Not Sure" groups to be the sexual identity group with the highest rate of bullying victimization.

Conclusion: Interventions that operate on multiple structural levels and empower marginalized youth are needed.

Keywords: adolescents; bullying; disparities; suicide; trends.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Drs. Chen, Olfson, Cerdá, Martins, Mauro, Hasin, and Keyes and Mx. Kreski have reported no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Trends in Bullying Victimization and Suicide Attempts Among High School Students, Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015–2019, by Sex Note: Please note color figures are available online.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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