An Observational Study of Bullying as a Contributing Factor in Youth Suicide in Toronto

Abstract

Objective: Bullying has been identified as a potential contributing factor in youth suicide. This issue has been highlighted in recent widely publicized media reports, worldwide, in which deceased youth were bullied. We report on an observational study conducted to determine the frequency of bullying as a contributing factor to youth suicide. Method:Coroner records were reviewed for all suicide deaths in youth aged between 10 and 19 in the city of Toronto from 1998 to 2011. Data abstracted were recent stressors (including bullying), clinical variables, such as the presence of mental illness, demographics, and methods of suicide.Results: Ninety-four youth suicides were included in the study. The mean age was 16.8 years, and 70.2% were male. Bullying was present in 6 deaths (6.4%), and there were no deaths where online or cyberbullying was detected. Bullying was the only identified contributing factor in fewer than 5 deaths. The most common stressors identified were conflict with parents (21.3%), romantic partner problems (17.0%), academic problems (10.6%), and criminal and (or) legal problems (10.6%). Any stressor or mental and (or) physical illness was detected in 78.7% of cases. Depression was detected in 40.4% of cases. Conclusions:Our study highlights the need to view suicide in youth as arising from a complex interplay of various biological, psychological, and social factors of which bullying is only one. It challenges simple cause-and-effect models that may suggest that suicide arises from any one factor, such as bullying. W W W Une étude d'observation de l'intimidation comme facteur contributif du suicide chez les adolescents de TorontoObjectif : L'intimidation a été identifiée comme étant un facteur contributif potentiel du suicide chez les adolescents. Cette question a été mise en évidence dans de récents reportages des médias largement publicisés, dans le monde entier, dans lesquels des jeunes décédés avaient été intimidés. Nous rendons compte d'une étude d'observation menée afin de déterminer la fréquence de l'intimidation comme facteur contributif du suicide chez les adolescents Méthode : Les dossiers du coroner ont été examinés pour tous les décès par suicide chez les adolescents entre 10 et 19 ans dans la ville de Toronto, de 1998 à 2011. Les données extraites étaient des stresseurs récents (dont l'intimidation), des variables cliniques, comme la présence de maladie mentale, des données démographiques, et les méthodes de suicide.Résultats : Quatre-vingt-quatorze suicides d'adolescents ont été inclus dans l'étude. L'âge moyen était de 16,8 ans et 70,2 % étaient des garçons. L'intimidation était présente dans 6 décès (6,4 %), et il n'y avait pas de décès où la cyber-intimidation ou l'intimidation en ligne était détectée. L'intimidation était le seul facteur contributif identifié dans moins de 5 décès. Les stresseurs les plus communs identifiés étaient le conflit avec les parents (21,3 %), les problèmes avec un partenaire sexuel (17,0%), les problèmes scolaires (10,6 %), et les problèmes criminels et (...

Stress and suicidal ideation among adolescents having academic difficulty

“…[ 24 ] Multiple factors such as unrecognized depression, adjustment issues, home environment, social support, temperamental traits, worrying about future, substance abuse, academic problems, relationship issues, romantic partner problems, and coping styles have been found to play a role in raising level of suicidal ideas, suicide attempts, and suicide among adolescents. [ 25 26 27 28 ] Thus, academic difficulty is only one of the factors which might be related to high risk of suicide and other factors also need to be explored. In the present study, the number of adolescents having suicidal ideas was low in all the three groups (7 in the SLD group, 8 in the group having academic difficulty without SLD, and 20 in the academically typically achieving group).…”

Suicide in adolescents: findings from the Swiss National cohort

“…Whereas it is likely that the information on the death certificate underestimates the prevalence of mental illness among youth dying by suicide, the post hoc psychological autopsy approach will overestimate the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity [ 41 ]. In the USA and Canada studies based on coroner data also found a considerably higher proportion of adolescent suicides with mental disorders [ 42 , 43 ]. It is unclear whether Swiss adolescents dying by suicide are suffering less often from psychiatric disorders or if they are underdiagnosed.…”

Bullying and Suicidal Behavior During Adolescence: A Developmental Perspective

“…Due to this, it is hard to draw any conclusions about what types of bullying influence suicidal behavior (e.g., physical forms vs. relational forms). Finally, while certainly not the case for all the studies examined, the majority had limitations in the generalizability of the findings, typically due to the use of convenience samples or samples drawn from a single geographical region (Rigby and Slee 1999;Cleary 2000;Kim et al 2005Kim et al , 2009Klomek et al 2007Klomek et al , 2008Schneider et al 2012;Litwiller and Brausch 2013;Sinyor et al 2014). However, despite the limitations of the studies presented, the evidence connecting bullying to suicide among adolescents is quite robust.…”

“…Sinyor et al (2014), utilizing observational data from psychological autopsies of youth who died by suicide in Toronto from 1998 to 2011, found that, while bullying was present in some of the suicides (6.4 %), there were other contributing factors that were more often present: conflict with parents (21.3 %), romantic partner problems (17.0 %), academic problems (10.6 %), and criminal and/or legal problems (10.6 %). The authors concluded that, while bullying plays a role in suicidal behavior, it is often just one of a number of risk factors.…”