Purpose To examine whether traditional and cyber bullying victimization were associated with adolescent's mental health problems and suicidal ideation at two-year follow-up. Gender differences were explored to determine whether bullying affects boys and girls differently. Methods A two-year longitudinal study was conducted among first-year secondary school students (N = 3181). Traditional and cyber bullying victimization were assessed at baseline, whereas mental health status and suicidal ideation were assessed at baseline and follow-up by means of self-report questionnaires. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess associations between these variables while controlling for baseline problems. Additionally, we tested whether gender differences in mental health and suicidal ideation were present for the two types of bullying. Results There was a significant interaction between gender and traditional bullying victimization and between gender and cyber bullying victimization on mental health problems. Among boys, traditional and cyber bullying victimization were not related to mental health problems after controlling for baseline mental health. Among girls, both traditional and cyber bullying victimization were associated with mental health problems after controlling for baseline mental health. No significant interaction between gender and traditional or cyber bullying victimization on suicidal ideation was found. Traditional bullying victimization was associated with suicidal ideation, whereas cyber bullying victimization was not associated with suicidal ideation after controlling for baseline suicidal ideation. Conclusions Traditional bullying victimization is associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation, whereas traditional, as well as cyber bullying victimization is associated with an increased risk of mental health problems among girls. These findings stress the importance of programs aimed at reducing bullying behavior, especially because early-onset mental health problems may pose a risk for the development of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.
References
[1]
Levy N, Cortesi S, Crowley E, Beaton M, Casey J, et al. (2012) Bullying in a Networked Era: A Literature Review. Harvard University: Berkman Center Research Publication.
[2]
Olweus D (1993) Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Cambridge, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
[3]
Smith PK, Mahdavi J, Carvalho M, Fisher S, Russell S, et al. (2008) Cyberbullying: its nature and impact in secondary school pupils. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 49: 376–385. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01846.x
[4]
Suzuki K, Asaga R, Sourander A, Hoven CW, Mandell D (2012) Cyberbullying and adolescent mental health. Int J Adolesc Med Health 24: 27–35. doi: 10.1515/ijamh.2012.005
[5]
Raskauskas J, Stoltz AD (2007) Involvement in traditional and electronic bullying among adolescents. Dev Psychol 43: 564–575. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.3.564
[6]
Brunstein Klomek A, Sourander A, Gould M (2010) The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: a review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings. Can J Psychiatry 55: 282–288.
[7]
Ybarra ML, Mitchell KJ, Espelage DL (2012) Comparisons of bully and unwanted sexual experiences online and offline among a national sample of youth. In: ？zdemir ？, editor. Complementary pediatrics.Croatia: InTech.
[8]
Bonanno RA, Hymel S (2013) Cyber Bullying and Internalizing Difficulties: Above and Beyond the Impact of Traditional Forms of Bullying. J Youth Adolesc.
[9]
Schneider SK, O'Donnell L, Stueve A, Coulter RW (2012) Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: a regional census of high school students. Am J Public Health 102: 171–177. doi: 10.2105/ajph.2011.300308
[10]
Schultze-Krumbholz A, J？kel A, Schultze M, Scheithauer H (2012) Emotional and behavioural problems in the context of cyberbullying: a longitudinal study among German adolescents. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties 17: 329–345. doi: 10.1080/13632752.2012.704317
[11]
Reijntjes A, Kamphuis JH, Prinzie P, Telch MJ (2010) Peer victimization and internalizing problems in children: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Child Abuse Negl 34: 244–252. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.07.009
[12]
Fisher HL, Moffitt TE, Houts RM, Belsky DW, Arseneault L, et al. (2012) Bullying victimisation and risk of self harm in early adolescence: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ 344: e2683. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e2683
[13]
Copeland WE, Wolke D, Angold A, Costello EJ (2013) Adult Psychiatric Outcomes of Bullying and Being Bullied by Peers in Childhood and Adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry: 1–8.
[14]
Schreier A, Wolke D, Thomas K, Horwood J, Hollis C, et al. (2009) Prospective study of peer victimization in childhood and psychotic symptoms in a nonclinical population at age 12 years. Arch Gen Psychiatry 66: 527–536. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.23
[15]
Heikkila HK, Vaananen J, Helminen M, Frojd S, Marttunen M, et al. (2013) Involvement in bullying and suicidal ideation in middle adolescence: a 2-year follow-up study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 22: 95–102. doi: 10.1007/s00787-012-0327-0
[16]
Lereya ST, Winsper C, Heron J, Lewis G, Gunnell D, et al. (2013) Being bullied during childhood and the prospective pathways to self-harm in late adolescence. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 52 : 608–618 e602.
[17]
Brunstein Klomek A, Marrocco F, Kleinman M, Schonfeld IS, Gould MS (2007) Bullying, depression, and suicidality in adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 46: 40–49. doi: 10.1097/01.chi.0000242237.84925.18
[18]
Klomek AB, Sourander A, Niemela S, Kumpulainen K, Piha J, et al. (2009) Childhood bullying behaviors as a risk for suicide attempts and completed suicides: a population-based birth cohort study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 48: 254–261. doi: 10.1097/chi.0b013e318196b91f
[19]
Haavisto A, Sourander A, Multimaki P, Parkkola K, Santalahti P, et al. (2004) Factors associated with depressive symptoms among 18-year-old boys: a prospective 10-year follow-up study. J Affect Disord 83: 143–154. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2004.06.008
[20]
Bond L, Carlin JB, Thomas L, Rubin K, Patton G (2001) Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers. BMJ 323: 480–484. doi: 10.1136/bmj.323.7311.480
[21]
Sourander A, Ronning J, Brunstein-Klomek A, Gyllenberg D, Kumpulainen K, et al. (2009) Childhood bullying behavior and later psychiatric hospital and psychopharmacologic treatment: findings from the Finnish 1981 birth cohort study. Arch Gen Psychiatry 66: 1005–1012. doi: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.122
[22]
Klomek AB, Sourander A, Kumpulainen K, Piha J, Tamminen T, et al. (2008) Childhood bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidal ideation among Finnish males. J Affect Disord 109: 47–55. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2007.12.226
[23]
Sourander A, Jensen P, Ronning JA, Niemela S, Helenius H, et al. (2007) What is the early adulthood outcome of boys who bully or are bullied in childhood? The Finnish “From a Boy to a Man” study. Pediatrics 120: 397–404. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-2704
[24]
Goodman R, Ford T, Simmons H, Gatward R, Meltzer H (2000) Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample. Br J Psychiatry 177: 534–539. doi: 10.1080/0954026021000046128
[25]
Muris P, Meesters C, van den Berg F (2003) The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)—further evidence for its reliability and validity in a community sample of Dutch children and adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 12: 1–8. doi: 10.1007/s00787-003-0298-2
[26]
Scoring the SDQ. Instructions in English for scoring self-rated SDQs by hand. Available: http://www.sdqinfo.org/py/sdqinfo/c0.py. Accessed 2013 September 29.
[27]
van Dorsselaer S, de Looze M, Vermeulen-Smit E, de Roos S, Verdurmen J, et al. (2009) Gezondheid, welzijn en opvoeding van jongeren in Nederland. Utrecht: Trimbos-instituut, Universiteit Utrecht, Sociaal en cultureel planbureau.
[28]
van de Looij-Jansen PM, de Wilde EJ, Mieloo CL, Donker MC, Verhulst FC (2009) Seasonal variation in self-reported health and health-related behaviour in Dutch adolescents. Public Health 123: 686–688. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2009.07.015
[29]
Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. Allochtoon. Available at: http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/methoden/be？grippen/default.htm?ConceptID=37. Accessed 2013 June 18.
[30]
Twisk JW (2006) Applied multilevel analysis: A Practical Guide (Practical Guides to Biostatistics and Epidemiology).Cambridge University Press.
[31]
Crick NR, Bigbee MA (1998) Relational and overt forms of peer victimization: a multiinformant approach. J Consult Clin Psychol 66: 337–347. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.66.2.337
[32]
Cullerton-Sen C, Crick NR (2005) Understanding the effects of physical and relational victimization: the utility of multiple perspectives in prediction social-emotional adjustment. School Psych Rev 34: 147–160.
[33]
Baldry A (2004) The impact of direct and indirect bullying on the mental and physical health of Italian youngsters. Aggress Behav 30: 343–355. doi: 10.1002/ab.20043
[34]
Sourander A, Helstela L, Helenius H, Piha J (2000) Persistence of bullying from childhood to adolescence—a longitudinal 8-year follow-up study. Child Abuse Negl 24: 873–881. doi: 10.1016/s0145-2134(00)00146-0
[35]
Kowalski RM, Limber SP (2007) Electronic bullying among middle school students. J Adolesc Health 41: S22–30. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.08.017
[36]
Cash SJ, Bridge JA (2009) Epidemiology of youth suicide and suicidal behavior. Curr Opin Pediatr 21: 613–619. doi: 10.1097/mop.0b013e32833063e1
[37]
Rutter M (1986) The development of psychopathology of depression: Issues and perspectives. In: Rutter M, Izard CE, Read PB, editors. Depression in young people: Developmental and clinical perspectives. New York: Guilford Press.
[38]
Fergusson DM, Woodward LJ (2002) Mental health, educational, and social role outcomes of adolescents with depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 59: 225–231. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.59.3.225
[39]
Kim-Cohen J, Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Harrington H, Milne BJ, et al. (2003) Prior juvenile diagnoses in adults with mental disorder: developmental follow-back of a prospective-longitudinal cohort. Arch Gen Psychiatry 60: 709–717. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.60.7.709
[40]
Hofstra MB, van der Ende J, Verhulst FC (2002) Child and adolescent problems predict DSM-IV disorders in adulthood: a 14-year follow-up of a Dutch epidemiological sample. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 41: 182–189. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200202000-00012
[41]
Smith PK, Ananiadou K, Cowie H (2003) Interventions to reduce school bullying. Can J Psychiatry 48: 591–599.
[42]
Ttofi MM, Farrington DP (2011) Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: A systematic and meta-analytic review. J Exp Criminol.7: pp.
[43]
Bhat CS (2008) Cyber Bullying: Overview and Strategies for School Counsellors, Guidance Officers, and All School Personnel. Aust J Guid Counsell 18: 53–66. doi: 10.1375/ajgc.18.1.53
