The impact of gender and age on bullying role, self-harm and suicide: Evidence from a cohort study of Australian children

By Kabir Ahmad, Amanda Beatson, Marilyn Campbell, Rubayyat Hashmi, Byron W. Keating , Rory Mulcahy, Aimee Riedel, Shasha Wang

Published 5 January 2023

Context

Suicide is the fourth largest cause of death in children aged 15-19 years worldwide.

Prevention of suicide and self-harm amongst adolescents in Australia is a national priority.

Existing research suggests that bullying, both victimisation and perpetration, has been associated with self-harm and suicide related behaviours among adolescents, although not all adolescents who are bullied or bully others will self-harm or consider suicide. Bullying, in both the victim and perpetrator, can impact on adolescent self-harm and suicide indirectly by undermining self-esteem, mental health and social connectedness.

Research and findings

A total of 3,604 participants in this study came from the from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian children (LSAC) between 2014 and 2018. Researchers examined responses to questions about bullying, self-harm, and suicide-related behaviours.

Patterns or correlations between the data recorded for bullying, self-harm and suicide were investigated and categorised according to gender, age, and if the bullying was in the form of a victim or perpetrator.

Results found that involvement in bullying, as either a victim, perpetrator or both, is associated with high risk of thoughts of self-harm, with victims and bully-victims more likely to self-harm and have thoughts of suicide, plan or attempt suicide.

Further analysis showed that female and adolescents aged 16-17 years-of-age had the highest risk of self-harm and suicidality.

Implications

Although this research showed an association between bullying, self-harm and suicide, the researchers recommend further exploration into other social and demographic factors that influence self-harm and suicidal behaviours, as well as risk reduction programs that try to reduce the prevalence and harm associated with bullying.