Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T01:07:18.939Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Suicidal ideation and bullying among Australian secondary school students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Ken Rigby*
Affiliation:
University of South Australia
*
University of South Australia, Underdale Campus, Holbrooks Road, Underdale SA 5032, Phone: (08) 8302 6611, Fax: (08) 8302 6648, Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Bully-victim problems at school may have negative effects on students' mental health. Adolescents (N = 845) attending schools in South Australia anonymously answered questionnaires that included a measure of suicidal ideation. Student involvement in bully-victim problems at school and the emotional reaction to being viaimised by peers were also examined. Self-report but not peer nomination indicated that high levels of peer victimisation and relatively ineffective coping responses were independently and significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Implications for school policies and practices to address the issue of youth suicide are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1998

References

Allison, S., Pearce, C., Martin, G., Miller, K., & Long, R. (1995). Parental influence, pessimism, and adolescent suicidally. Archives of Suicide Research, 1, 229242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baume, P. (1996). Suicide in Australia: Do we really have a problem? The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 13, 339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, R., & Fernandez, E. (1998). Cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of anger: A meta-analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22, 6374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bjorkqvist, K., Lagerspetz, K.M.J., & Kaukiainen, A. (1992). Do girls manipulate and boys fight? Developmental trends regarding direct and indirect aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 18, 117127.3.0.CO;2-3>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boulton, M.J., & Underwood, K. (1992). Bully-victim problems among middle school children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 7387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brent, D.A., Johnson, B.A., Perper, J., & Connolly, J. (1994). Personality disorder, personality traits, impulsive violence, and completed suicide in adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 10801086.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, D.W. (1993). Coping with suicide in secondary schools: Are teachers prepared? Educational Research Journal, 8, 2831.Google Scholar
Cowie, H., & Sharp, S. (Eds.).,(1996). Peer counselling in schools. London: Fulton.Google Scholar
Dusenbury, L., Falco., M, Lake., A., Brannigan, R., & Bosworth, K. (1997). Nine critical elements of promising violence prevention programs. Journal of School Health, 67, 409414.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garland, A.F., & Zigler, E. (1993). Adolescent suicide-prevention: Current research and social-policy implications. American Psychologist, 48, 169183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garrison, C.Z., Addy, C.L., Jackson, K.L., McKeown, R.E., & Waller, J.L. (1991). A longitudinal study of suicidal ideation in young adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 597603.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, D., & Williams, P. (1988). A user’s guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor: NFER-Nelson.Google Scholar
Juon, H.S., & Ensminger, M.E (1997). Childhood and young adult predictors of suicidal behaviors: A prospective study of African Americans. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 38, 553563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kochenderfer, B.J., & Ladd, G.W. (1996). Peer victimisation: Cause or consequence of school maladjustment. Child Development, 67, 13051317.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewinsohn, P.M., Rohde, P., & Seeley, J.R. (1993). Psychosocial characteristics of adolescents with a history of suicide attempt. Journal of the American Academy of Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(1), 6068.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, G., Roeger, L., Dadds, V., & Allison, S. (1997). Early detection of emotional disorders in South Australia: The first two years. Adelaide, South Australia: Southern Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.Google Scholar
Martin, G., Rozannes, P., Pearce, C., & Allison, S. (1995). Adolescent suicide, depression, and family dysfunction. Acta Psychiatrca Scandinavica, 92, 336344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mazza, J.J. (1997). School-based suicide programs: Are they effective? School Psychology Review, 26, 382396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooney, R.L., & Gordon, L.V. (1950). The Mooney Problem Check Lists:Manual, 1950 revisions. New York: Psychological Corp.Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1985). 80,000 barn er innblandet i mobbing [Eighty thousand children are involved in bullying]. Norsk Skolebad (Oslo), 2, 1823.Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1992). Victimisation by peers: Antecedents and long-term outcomes. In Rubin, K.H. & Asendorf, J.B. (Eds.), Social withdrawal,inhibition, and shyness in children (pp. 315341). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.Google Scholar
O’Moore, A.M., & Hillery, B. (1991). What do teachers need to know? In Elliott, M. (Ed.), Bullying: A practical guide to coping in schools (pp. 5669). Harlow, UK: David Fulton.Google Scholar
Pfeffer, C.R. (1990). Manifestation of risk factors. In MacLean, G. (Ed.), Suicide in children and adolescents (pp. 6588). Toronto: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.Google ScholarPubMed
Pillay, A.L., & Wassenaar, D.R. (1997). Recent stressors and family satisfaction in suicidal adolescents in South Africa. Journal of Adolescence, 20, 155162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pikas, A. (1989). The common concern method for the treatment of mobbing. In Roland, E. & Munthe, E. (Eds.), Bullying: An international perspective (pp. 91104). London: Fulton.Google Scholar
Rigby, K. (1993). School children’s perceptions of their families and parents as a function of peer relations. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 154, 501514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rigby, K. (1994a). Psycho-social functioning in families of Australian adolescent schoolchildren involved in bully-victim problems. Journal of Family Therapy, 16(2) 1731–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rigby, K. (1994b). Family influence, peer relations, and health effects among school children. In Oxenberry, K., Rigby, K. & Slee, P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the conference on children’s peer relations (pp. 294304). Adelaide: Institute of Social Research, University of South Australia.Google Scholar
Rigby, K. (1996). Bullying in Australian schools and what to do about it. Melbourne: ACER. (Also published 1997, London: Jessica Kingsley).Google Scholar
Rigby, K. (1997a). What children tell us about bullying in schools. Children Australia, 22(2), 2834.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rigby, K. (1997b). Can adverse peer-relations at school drive children to suicide? Proceedings of the International School Psychology 20th Annual Colloquium (pp. 246253). Melbourne: Australian Guidance and Counselling Association.Google Scholar
Rigby, K. (1997c). Attitudes and beliefs about bullying among Australian school children. Irish Journal of Psychology, 18, 202220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rigby, K. (1998). Peer relations at school and the health of children. Youth Studies Australia, 17, 1318.Google Scholar
Rigby, K. & Slee, P.T. (1993a). The Peer Relations Questionnaire. Adelaide: University of South Australia.Google Scholar
Rigby, K., & Slee, P.T. (1993b). Dimensions of interpersonal relating among Australian school children and their implications for psychological well-being. Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 3342.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rigby, K., Slee, P.T. & Cunningham, R. (in press). The PBI and bully-victim problems. Journal of Social Psychology.Google Scholar
Ross, D.M. (1996). Childhood bullying and teasing: What school personnel, other professionals, and parents can do. Alexandria: Vermont: American Counselling Association.Google Scholar
Salmivalli, C., Kaukianen, J., & Lagerspetz, K.M.J. (1996). How do victims respond to bullying? Aggressive Behavior, 22, 99109.3.0.CO;2-P>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slee, P.T. (1995). Peer victimization and its relationship to depression among Australian primary school students. Personality and Individual Differences, 18(1), 5762.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, P.K., & Sharp, S. (Eds.). (1994). School bullying: Insights and perspectives. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
SPSS-X (1988). SPSS-X user’s guide (3rd ed.). Chicago: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Stoppard, J.M. (1993). Gender, psychosocial factors, and depression. In P. Cappeliez & R. J. Flynn (Eds.), Depression and the social environment (pp. 121149). Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topol, P., & Reznikoff, M. (1982). Perceived peer and family relationships, hopelessness, and locus of control as factors in adolescent suicide attempts. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 12, 141150.Google ScholarPubMed
Tousignant, M., & Hanigan, D. (1993) Suicidal behaviour and depression among young adults. In Cappeliez, P. & Flynn, R.J. (Eds.), Depression and the social environment (pp. 93120). Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zubrick, S.R., Silburn, S.R., Teoh, H.-J., Carlton, J., Shepherd, C., Lawrence, D. (1997).Western Australian Child Health Survey: Education, health, and competency. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Perth, Western Australia.Google Scholar