School Suicide Due to Bullying

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among school-aged children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of these child victims also were victims of bullying at school, and several sources have established at least an indirect link between school bullying and suicide.

Theories/Speculation

• A 2008 compendium of studies by Yale School of Medicine showed a correlation between suicidal thoughts and bullying, with bullying victims up to nine times more likely to harbor suicidal thoughts than other students. Studies have not established a direct link, however, because they do not examine other factors such as psychiatric problems and past suicide attempts.

Significance

• About 30 percent of United States children and teens either are victims of bullies, bullies themselves or both, according to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. Bullying brings a greater risk of depression, which is the number one cause of suicide.

Types

• Both physical and mental bullying have caused reported instances of suicide. In two well-publicized cases, Washington 13-year-old Jared High shot himself several months after a bully physically assaulted him, and Missouri teen Megan Meier hanged herself after cyber-bullying through social networking site MySpace.

Prevention/Solution

• Suicide.org executive director Kevin Caruso recommends that schools adopt zero-tolerance policies for bullying to prevent increasing students' risk of suicide. Parents of bullied children should inform schools administrators of the problem and seek a therapist if their child shows signs of depression.

Misconceptions

• Despite the popular theory that bullies are hiding their own insecurities, most bullies actually have high self-esteem and have little trouble making friends. Even so, some studies in the Yale compendium showed bullies have a higher risk of suicidal tendencies than other students.