Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2011

Open Access 01-12-2011 | Research article

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

Authors: Petros Skapinakis, Stefanos Bellos, Tatiana Gkatsa, Konstantina Magklara, Glyn Lewis, Ricardo Araya, Stelios Stylianidis, Venetsanos Mavreas

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2011

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusions

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.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Olweus D: Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. 1993, Oxford Blackwell
2.
Olweus D: Sweden. The Nature of School Bullying: A Cross-national Perspective. Edited by: Smith PK, Morita Y, Junger-Tas J, Olweus D, Catalano R, Slee P. 1999, New York, NY: Routledge, 7-27.
3.
Smith-Khuri E, Iachan R, Scheidt PC, Overpeck MD, Gabhainn SN, Pickett W, Harel Y: A cross-national study of violence-related behaviors in adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004, 158: 539-44. 10.1001/archpedi.158.6.539.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Due P, Holstein BE, Lynch J, Diderichsen F, Gabhain SN, Scheidt P, Currie C: Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Bullying Working Group. Bullying and symptoms among school-aged children: international comparative cross sectional study in 28 countries. Eur J Public Health. 2005, 15: 128-32. 10.1093/eurpub/cki105.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Salmon G, James A, Smith DM: Bullying in schools: self reported anxiety, depression, and self esteem in secondary school children. BMJ. 1998, 317: 924-5.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
6.
Forero R, McLellan L, Rissel C, Bauman A: Bullying behaviour and psychosocial health among school students in New South Wales, Australia: cross sectional survey. BMJ. 1999, 319: 344-8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
7.
Kaltiala-Heino R, Rimpelä M, Rantanen P, Rimpelä A: Bullying at school--an indicator of adolescents at risk for mental disorders. J Adolesc. 2000, 23: 661-74. 10.1006/jado.2000.0351.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Bond L, Carlin JB, Thomas L, Rubin K, Patton G: Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers. BMJ. 2001, 323: 480-4. 10.1136/bmj.323.7311.480.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
9.
Nansel TR, Overpeck M, Pilla RS, Ruan WJ, Simons-Morton B, Scheidt P: Bullying behaviors among US youth: prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. JAMA. 2001, 285: 2094-100. 10.1001/jama.285.16.2094.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
10.
Nansel TR, Craig W, Overpeck MD, Saluja G, Ruan WJ: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Bullying Analyses Working Group. Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviors and psychosocial adjustment. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004, 158: 730-6. 10.1001/archpedi.158.8.730.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
11.
Roth DA, Coles ME, Heimberg RG: The relationship between memories for childhood teasing and anxiety and depression in adulthood. J Anxiety Disord. 2002, 16: 149-64. 10.1016/S0887-6185(01)00096-2.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Sourander A, Jensen P, Rönning JA, Niemelä S, Helenius H, Sillanmäki L, Kumpulainen K, Piha J, Tamminen T, Moilanen I, Almqvist F: 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. 2007, 120: 397-404. 10.1542/peds.2006-2704.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Kaltiala-Heino R, Rimpelä M, Marttunen M, Rimpelä A, Rantanen P: Bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: school survey. BMJ. 1999, 319: 348-51.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
14.
Roland E: Bullying, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. Educational research. 2002, 44: 55-67. 10.1080/00131880110107351.CrossRef
15.
van der Wal MF, de Wit CA, Hirasing RA: Psychosocial health among young victims and offenders of direct and indirect bullying. Pediatrics. 2003, 111: 1312-7. 10.1542/peds.111.6.1312.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Ivarsson T, Broberg AG, Arvidsson T, Gillberg C: Bullying in adolescence: psychiatric problems in victims and bullies as measured by the Youth Self Report (YSR) and the Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS). Nord J Psychiatry. 2005, 59: 365-73. 10.1080/08039480500227816.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Kim YS, Koh YJ, Leventhal B: School bullying and suicidal risk in Korean middle school students. Pediatrics. 2005, 115: 357-63. 10.1542/peds.2004-0902.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Klomek AB, Marrocco F, Kleinman M, Schonfeld IS, Gould MS: Bullying, depression, and suicidality in adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2007, 46: 40-9. 10.1097/01.chi.0000242237.84925.18.CrossRef
19.
Kim YS, Leventhal BL, Koh YJ, Boyce WT: Bullying increased suicide risk: prospective study of Korean adolescents. Arch Suicide Res. 2009, 13: 15-30. 10.1080/13811110802572098.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Anderson RN: Deaths: Leading causes for 2000. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2002, 50: 1-85.
21.
Beautrais AL, Joyce PR, Mulder RT, Fergusson DM, Deavoll BJ, Nightingale SK: Prevalence and comorbidity of mental disorders in persons making serious suicide attempts: a case-control study. Am J Psychiatry. 1996, 153: 1009-14.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Pelkonen M, Marttunen M: Child and adolescent suicide: epidemiology, risk factors, and approaches to prevention. Paediatr Drugs. 2003, 5: 243-65.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Park HS, Schepp KG, Jang EH, Koo HY: Predictors of suicidal ideation among high school students by gender in South Korea. J Sch Health. 2006, 76: 181-8. 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2006.00092.x.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Klomek AB, Sourander A, Kumpulainen K, Piha J, Tamminen T, Moilanen I, Almqvist F, Gould MS: Childhood bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidal ideation among Finnish males. J Affect Disord. 2008, 109: 47-55. 10.1016/j.jad.2007.12.226.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Klomek AB, Sourander A, Niemelä S, Kumpulainen K, Piha J, Tamminen T, Almqvist F, Gould MS: Childhood bullying behaviors as a risk for suicide attempts and completed suicides: a population-based birth cohort study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009, 48: 254-61. 10.1097/CHI.0b013e318196b91f.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Liang H, Flisher AJ, Lombard CJ: Bullying, violence, and risk behavior in South African school students. Child Abuse Negl. 2007, 31: 161-71. 10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.08.007.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Chishti P, Stone DH, Corcoran P, Williamson E, Petridou E, EUROSAVE Working Group: Suicide mortality in the European Union. Eur J Public Health. 2003, 13: 108-14. 10.1093/eurpub/13.2.108.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Dennis M, Baillon S, Brugha T, Lindesay J, Stewart R, Meltzer H: The spectrum of suicidal ideation in Great Britain: comparisons across a 16-74 years age range. Psychol Med. 2007, 37: 795-805. 10.1017/S0033291707000013.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Goldney RD, Wilson D, Dal Grande E, Fisher LJ, McFarlane AC: Suicidal ideation in a random community sample: attributable risk due to depression and psychosocial and traumatic events. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2000, 34: 98-106. 10.1046/j.1440-1614.2000.00646.x.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Lewinsohn P, Rohde P, Seeley J: Adolescent Suicidal Ideation and Attempts: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Clinical Implications. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 1996, 3: 25-46. 10.1111/j.1468-2850.1996.tb00056.x.
31.
Skapinakis P, Bellos S, Mihalis G, Gkatsa T, Mavreas V: The epidemiology of common mental disorders in adolescents: The Epirus school project [abstract]. Eur Psychiatry. 2007, 22: S331-10.1016/j.eurpsy.2007.01.1105.CrossRef
32.
Dunn G, Pickles A, Tansella M, Vazquez-Barquero JL: Two-phase epidemiological surveys in psychiatric research. Br J Psychiatry. 1999, 174: 95-100. 10.1192/bjp.174.2.95.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Lewis G, Pelosi AJ, Araya RC, Dunn G: Measuring psychiatric disorder in the community: a standardized assessment for use by lay-interviewers. Psychol Med. 1992, 22: 465-486. 10.1017/S0033291700030415.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Jenkins R, Bebbington P, Brugha T, Farrell M, Gill B, Lewis G, Meltzer H, Petticrew M: The National Psychiatric Morbidity surveys of Great Britain--strategy and methods. Psychol Med. 1997, 7: 765-74. 10.1017/S003329179700531X.CrossRef
35.
Singleton N, Bumpstead R, O'Brien M, Lee A, Meltzer H: Psychiatric morbidity among adults living in private households 2000. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2003, 15: 65-73. 10.1080/0954026021000045967.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Botega NJ, Pereira WA, Bio MR, Garcia Junior C, Zomignani MA: Psychiatric morbidity among medical in-patients: a standardized assessment (GHQ-12 and CIS-R) using 'lay' interviewers in a Brazilian hospital. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 1995, 30: 127-31. 10.1007/BF00802041.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Araya R, Rojas G, Fritsch R, Acuna J, Lewis G: Common mental disorders in Santiago, Chile: prevalence and socio-demographic correlates. Br J Psychiatry. 2001, 178: 228-33. 10.1192/bjp.178.3.228.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Lewis G, Pelosi AJ, Glover E, Wilkinson G, Stansfeld SA, Williams P, Shepherd M: The development of a computerized assessment for minor psychiatric disorder. Psychol Med. 1988, 18: 737-45. 10.1017/S0033291700008448.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Patton GC, Coffey C, Posterino M, Carlin JB, Wolfe R, Bowes G: A computerised screening instrument for adolescent depression: population-based validation and application to a two-phase case-control study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 1999, 34: 166-72. 10.1007/s001270050129.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Skapinakis P, Anagnostopoulos F, Bellos S, Magklara K, Lewis G, Mavreas V: An empirical investigation of the structure of anxiety and depressive symptoms in late adolescence: cross-sectional study using the Greek version of the revised Clinical Interview Schedule. Psychiatry Res. 2010, doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2010.08.023,
41.
Thomas HV, Crawford M, Meltzer H, Lewis G: Thinking life is not worth living. A population survey of Great Britain. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2002, 37: 351-6. 10.1007/s00127-002-0556-5.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Olweus D: The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. 1996, Bergen, Norway: University of Bergen
43.
WHO: Health and health behaviour among young people: health behaviour in school-aged children: a WHO cross-national study (HBSC): international report. Copenhagen: Health Promotion and Investment for Health. 2000, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
44.
Rabe-Hesketh S, Skrondal A: Multilevel and longitudinal modelling using Stata. 2008, College Station, TX: Stata Press
45.
Brady AR: Adjusted population attributable fractions from logistic regression (sbe21). Stata Technical Bulletin. 1998, 42: 8-12.
46.
Bernal M, Haro JM, Bernert S, Brugha T, de Graaf R, Bruffaerts R, Lépine JP, de Girolamo G, Vilagut G, Gasquet I, Torres JV, Kovess V, Heider D, Neeleman J, Kessler R, Alonso J, ESEMED/MHEDEA Investigators: Risk factors for suicidality in Europe: results from the ESEMED study. J Affect Disord. 2007, 101: 27-34. 10.1016/j.jad.2006.09.018.CrossRefPubMed
47.
Nock MK, Borges G, Bromet EJ, Alonso J, Angermeyer M, Beautrais A, Bruffaerts R, Chiu WT, de Girolamo G, Gluzman S, de Graaf R, Gureje O, Haro JM, Huang Y, Karam E, Kessler RC, Lepine JP, Levinson D, Medina-Mora ME, Ono Y, Posada-Villa J, Williams D: Cross-national prevalence and risk factors for suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. Br J Psychiatry. 2008, 192: 98-105. 10.1192/bjp.bp.107.040113.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
48.
Judd LL, Akiskal HS, Zeller PJ, Paulus M, Leon AC, Maser JD, Endicott J, Coryell W, Kunovac JL, Mueller TI, Rice JP, Keller MB: Psychosocial disability during the long-term course of unipolar major depressive disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000, 57: 375-80. 10.1001/archpsyc.57.4.375.CrossRefPubMed
49.
Ormel J: Synchrony of change in depression and disability: what next?. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000, 57: 381-2. 10.1001/archpsyc.57.4.381.CrossRefPubMed
50.
Gould MS, King R, Greenwald S, Fisher P, Schwab-Stone M, Kramer R, Flisher AJ, Goodman S, Canino G, Shaffer D: Psychopathology associated with suicidal ideation and attempts among children and adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998, 37: 915-23. 10.1097/00004583-199809000-00011.CrossRefPubMed
51.
Assmann SF, Pocock SJ, Enos LE, Kasten LE: Subgroup analysis and other (mis)uses of baseline data in clinical trials. Lancet. 2000, 355: 1064-9. 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02039-0.CrossRefPubMed
52.
Rivers I, Noret N: Participant roles in bullying behavior and their association with thoughts of ending one's life. Crisis. 2010, 31: 143-48.CrossRefPubMed
53.
Mytton J, DiGuiseppi C, Gough D, Taylor R, Logan S: School-based secondary prevention programmes for preventing violence. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006, 3: CD004606-PubMed
Metadata
Title
The association between bullying and early stages of suicidal ideation in late adolescents in Greece
Authors
Petros Skapinakis
Stefanos Bellos
Tatiana Gkatsa
Konstantina Magklara
Glyn Lewis
Ricardo Araya
Stelios Stylianidis
Venetsanos Mavreas
Publication date
01-12-2011
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2011
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-11-22

Other articles of this Issue 1/2011

BMC Psychiatry 1/2011 Go to the issue

Review

Avoiding the 'twilight zone': recommendations for the transition of services from adolescence to adulthood for young people with ADHD

Research article

Validity of the 32-item Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32) in a clinical sample with mood disorders in China

Research article

Supervised team management, with or without structured psychotherapy, in heavy users of a mental health service with borderline personality disorder: a two-year follow-up preliminary randomized study

Research article

Is Ankyrin a genetic risk factor for psychiatric phenotypes?

Research article

Reduced peak oxygen uptake and implications for cardiovascular health and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia

Research article

Dual diagnosis clients' treatment satisfaction - a systematic review