Bullied to death: Relationship between Bullying and Suicide

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Recommended: Intriduction about bullying

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Growing up many children heard this idiomatic expression that implies that physical actions can hurt you such as being hit with a stick or rock, but words or name calling can’t hurt you and you should just ignore it. Bullying has emerged in the 21st century as an important public health issue and there have been incidents where teasing and bullying have turned deadly (Burgess, A., Garbarino, C., & Carlson, M. I., 2006). Children that experience any kind of bullying have an increased chance of committing suicide because each one believes that is their only chance to escape and stop suffering. Therefore, it is important to understand what bullying is, the role bullying plays on mental health for these children, and the correlation between bullying and suicide to effectively develop preventive measures and coping strategies.
Bullying Is Not Just Part of Growing Up
Bullying is a prevalent experience that has serious consequences on children and adolescents worldwide (Borowsky, Taliaferro, and McMorris, 2013). Researchers Burgess, Garbarino, and Carlson (2006), found that many parents believed that bullying was just simply a part of growing up; however, it’s more than that and these parents are not willing to face reality and intervene due to their own personal reasons. Bullying is aggressive behaviors or intentional harm by one person or a group, generally carried out repeatedly and over time, and involves a power differential (Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. 2010). This sort of behavior is usually direct but may also be indirect and include aggressive behaviors such as verbal harassment, physical assault, relational and/or cyber maltreatment (Litwiller and Bra...

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...llying Turned Deadly: Shooters and Suicide. Victims & Offenders, 1(1), 1-14. doi:10.1080/15564880500498705
Fekkes, M., Pijpers, F. M., Fredriks, A., Vogels, T., & Verloove-Vanhorick, S. (2006). Do bullied children get ill, or do ill children get bullied? A prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms. Pediatrics, 117(5), 1568-1574. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-0187
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2010). Bullying, cyber bullying, and suicide. Archives Of Suicide Research, 14(3), 206-221. doi:10.1080/13811118.2010.494133
Litwiller, B. J., & Brausch, A. M. (2013). Cyber Bullying and Physical Bullying in Adolescent Suicide: The Role of Violent Behavior and Substance Use. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 42(5), 675-684.
Salmivalli, C. (2009). Bullying and the peer group: A review. Aggression and Violent Behaviors 15(2010), 112-120.

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