Adolescents’ viewing of suicide-related web content and psychological problems: differentiating the roles of cyberbullying involvement

Possible links of cyberbullying with suicide and psychological problems have recently received considerable attention. Suicide-related behaviours have also been linked with viewing of associated web-content. Studies on traditional bullying indicate that the roles of bullying involvement (bullies, victims and bully-victims) matter in terms of associations with specific suicide-related behaviours and psychological problems. Yet, related research in the area of cyberbullying is lacking. The current study investigates the association of cyberbullying roles with viewing of specific suicide-related web-content and psychological problems. Data from N = 19,406 (50% girls) 11-16 year olds (M = 13.54, SD = 1.68) of a representative sample of internet using children in Europe were analysed. Self- reports were obtained for cyberbullying role, viewing of web-content related to self-harm and suicide as well as the emotional, peer and conduct problems subscales of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Multi-nomial logistic regression analyses revealed that compared to those not involved in cyberbullying, viewing of web-content related to suicide was higher for cybervictims and cyberbully-victims but not for cyberbullies. Viewing of web-content related to self-harm was higher for all cyberbullying roles but especially for cyberbully-victims. Rates of emotional problems were higher among cybervictims and cyberbully-victims, rates of peer problems were higher for cybervictims, and rates of conduct problems were higher for all cyberbullying roles. Moreover, the links between cyberbullying role and viewing of suicide-related web-content were independent of psychological problems. The results can be useful to more precisely target efforts towards the specific problems of each cyberbullying role. The outcomes on viewing of web-content also indicate an opportunity to enhance the presence of health service providers on internet platforms

Prevalence of bullying and aggressive behavior and their relationship to mental health problems among 12- to 15-year-old Norwegian adolescents

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between being bullied and aggressive behavior and self-reported mental health problems among young adolescents. A representative population sample of 2,464 young Norwegian adolescents (50.8% girls) aged 12–15 years was assessed. Being bullied was measured using three items concerning teasing, exclusion, and physical assault. Self-esteem was assessed by Harter’s self-perception profile for adolescents. Emotional and behavioral problems were measured by the Moods and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and the youth self-report (YSR). Aggressive behavior was measured by four items from the YSR. One-tenth of the adolescents reported being bullied, and 5% reported having been aggressive toward others during the past 6 months. More of the students being bullied and students being aggressive toward others reported parental divorce, and they showed higher scores on all YSR subscales and on the MFQ questions, and lower scores on the global self-worth subscale (Harter) than students not being bullied or aggressive. A few differences emerged between the two groups being bullied or being aggressive toward others: those who were aggressive showed higher total YSR scores, higher aggression and delinquency scores, and lower social problems scores, and reported higher scores on the social acceptance subscale (Harter) than bullied students. However, because social problems were demonstrated in both the involved groups, interventions designed to improve social competence and interaction skills should be integrated in antibullying programs

The association between bullying and early stages of suicidal ideation in late adolescents in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bullying in schools has been associated with suicidal ideation but the confounding effect of psychiatric morbidity has not always been taken into account. Our main aim was to test the association between bullying behavior and early stages of suicidal ideation in a sample of Greek adolescents and to examine whether this is independent of the presence of psychiatric morbidity, including sub-threshold symptoms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>5614 pupils 16-18 years old and attending 25 senior high schools were screened in the first phase and a stratified random sample of 2431 were selected for a detailed interview at the second phase. Psychiatric morbidity and suicidal ideation were assessed with the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) while bullying was assessed with the revised Olweus bully/victim questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Victims of bullying behavior were more likely to express suicidal ideation. This association was particularly strong for those who were bullied on a weekly basis and it was independent of the presence of psychiatric morbidity (Odds Ratio: 7.78; 95% Confidence Interval: 3.05 - 19.90). In contrast, being a perpetrator ("bullying others") was not associated with this type of ideation after adjustment. These findings were similar in both boys and girls, although the population impact of victimization in the prevalence of suicidal ideation was potentially higher for boys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The strong cross-sectional association between frequent victimization and suicidal ideation in late adolescence offers an opportunity for identifying pupils in the school setting that are in a higher risk for exhibiting suicidal ideation.</p

Is being overweight associated with engagement in self-injurious behaviours in adolescence, or do psychological factors have more “weight”?

Introduction The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injurious behaviours (NSSI) among healthy weight and overweight adolescents and to examine the role of age, gender, weight status, treatment condition for weight control, and psychological variables (psychopathological symptoms and emotional skills) in the prediction of NSSI. Methods The study had a cross-sectional design, and participants (n = 370) were aged 14-19 years and were divided in three groups: 205 adolescents with normal weight, 82 adolescents from the community with overweight/obesity, and 83 adolescents with overweight/obesity and in outpatient treatment for weight control. Results The prevalence of these behaviours in the overweight community group (25.6 %) and in the overweight clinical group (14.5 %) was similar to their healthy weight peers (19 %). Not attending an outpatient treatment for weight control, higher psychopathology and less ability to regulate emotions predict the presence of NSSI. Conclusion Being overweight is not associated with NSSI, but psychosocial variables such as psychopathology, emotional deregulation and the absence of medical care predict these behaviours.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antecedents of hospital admission for deliberate self-harm from a 14-year follow-up study using data-linkage

Antecedents of hospital admission for deliberate self-harm from a 14-year follow-up study using data-linkageFrancis Mitrou1 email, Jennifer Gaudie1 email, David Lawrence1,2 email, Sven R Silburn1,2 email, Fiona J Stanley1 email and Stephen R Zubrick1,2 email1 Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia. PO Box 855, West Perth, WA. 6872, Australia2 Centre for Developmental Health, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia, Australiaauthor email corresponding author emailBMC Psychiatry 2010, 10:82doi:10.1186/1471-244X-10-82The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/10/82Received: 22 April 2010Accepted: 18 October 2010Published: 18 October 2010© 2010 Mitrou et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Psychosocial risk factors for suicidality in children and adolescents

Suicidality in childhood and adolescence is of increasing concern. The aim of this paper was to review the published literature identifying key psychosocial risk factors for suicidality in the paediatric population. A systematic two-step search was carried out following the PRISMA statement guidelines, using the terms 'suicidality, suicide, and self-harm' combined with terms 'infant, child, adolescent' according to the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health classification of ages. Forty-four studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The review identified three main factors that appear to increase the risk of suicidality: psychological factors (depression, anxiety, previous suicide attempt, drug and alcohol use, and other comorbid psychiatric disorders); stressful life events (family problems and peer conflicts); and personality traits (such as neuroticism and impulsivity). The evidence highlights the complexity of suicidality and points towards an interaction of factors contributing to suicidal behaviour. More information is needed to understand the complex relationship between risk factors for suicidality. Prospective studies with adequate sample sizes are needed to investigate these multiple variables of risk concurrently and over time

Bullying behaviour in schools, socioeconomic position and psychiatric morbidity: a cross-sectional study in late adolescents in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bullying is quite prevalent in the school setting and has been associated with the socioeconomic position and psychiatric morbidity of the pupils. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between bullying and socioeconomic status in a sample of Greek adolescents and to examine whether this is confounded by the presence of psychiatric morbidity, including sub-threshold forms of illness.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>5,614 adolescents aged 16-18 years old and attending 25 senior high schools were screened and a stratified random sample of 2,427 were selected for a detailed interview. Psychiatric morbidity was assessed with a fully structured psychiatric interview, the revised Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R), while bullying was assessed with the revised Olweus bully/victim questionnaire. The following socio-economic variables were assessed: parental educational level and employment status, financial difficulties of the family and adolescents' school performance. The associations were investigated using multinomial logit models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>26.4% of the pupils were involved in bullying-related behaviours at least once monthly either as victims, perpetrators or both, while more frequent involvement (at least once weekly) was reported by 4.1%. Psychiatric morbidity was associated with all types of bullying-related behaviours. No socioeconomic associations were reported for victimization. A lower school performance and unemployment of the father were significantly more likely among perpetrators, while economic inactivity of the mother was more likely in pupils who were both victims and perpetrators. These results were largely confirmed when we focused on high frequency behaviours only. In addition, being overweight increased the risk of frequent victimization.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of bullying among Greek pupils is substantial. Perpetration was associated with some dimensions of adolescents' socioeconomic status, while victimization showed no socioeconomic associations. Our findings may add to the understanding of possible risk factors for bullying behaviours in adolescence.</p

Depressive symptoms associated with COVID-19 preventive practice measures, daily activities in home quarantine and suicidal behaviors: findings from a large-scale online survey in Bangladesh

Background: The world is facing a public health emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological wellbeing among individuals worldwide has been negatively affected by the pandemic especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh. The present study aimed to assess the estimate of depressive symptoms and investigated its associations with COVID-19 preventive practice measures, daily activities in home quarantine, and suicidal behaviors in a large-scale Bangladeshi online survey. Methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was widely distributed to Bangladeshi citizens. A total of 13,654 participants (61.0% male; mean age = 24.0 years [SD = 6.0]; age range 18–65 years) completed the survey between May and June (2020). The survey included socio-demographics and COVID-19-related questions, along with lifestyle, suicidal, and psychometric measures. Hierarchical regression was performed to determine significant associations between depression and examined variables. Results: The estimate of depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic was 43.5%. Based on hierarchical regression analysis, depression was significantly associated with not engaging in COVID-19 preventive measures, daily activities in home quarantine (e.g., playing videogames), and suicidal behaviors. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms appeared to be high during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. To fight against the pandemic, mental health issues as well as physical health issues need to be taken into consideration