Alaina Spigner

English 102-125
Mr. Padgett
04/05/2016
Where is the Connection between Bullying and Suicide among Adolescents?
The connection between bullying and suicide has become more prevalent over the past
decade due to the amount of increased violence that has been occurring in schools. While the
connection between the two cannot be directly proven, research has shown that there is a
correlation between bullying/cyberbullying and suicide among adolescents in both middle and
high schools in the United States. The argument of a connection between bullying and suicide
can be proven when introducing facts and statistics to the matter, looking at studies that focus on
the topic, studying evidence of past cases is found, and looking into the way school systems are
structured in order to try and control bullying.
The connection between bullying and suicide is a topic that has become more and more
talked about over the past decade. This increase in youth-suicides that are in connection to
bullying have started to raise alarm, and in turn the topic of the connection between bullying and
suicide has become more important. For example, the CDC (The Center of Disease Control)
wrote an article about the topic. The central claim of the article itself was to focus on the
connection between bullying and suicide. The article states, Youth who report any involvement
with bullying behavior are more likely to report high levels of suicide-related behavior than
youth who do not report any involvement with bullying behavior (The Center of Disease
Control). While this quote does not say much, it also invites readers to think about the fact that
while this is an evident problem in schools, it cannot be addressed without students coming out
and talking about the abuse that may be happening within schools. This is a problem because

when students do not talk about it, the connection cannot be severed. This in turn leads to the
problem not being solved.
While suicide is an important key in the connection between bullying and suicide,
bullying is the focus of the connection. It is the focus because if bullying was prevented, suicide
would not occur as often. Bullying has been found to occur in more than one way due to an
increase in the amount of technology that has become more prevalent both in schools and in the
homes of adolescents. Cyberbullying, the form of bullying that occurs using technology, has
made it easier for teens to target each other without having to physically abuse someone. For
example, an anonymous quote was given that stated, They have taken over my Bebo account
more than once and sent message around saying that I had a sex change when I went on
holidays (Hinduja). This quote shows that Cyberbullying has become more prevalent through
the use of technology. Before technology, students were only able to inflict abuse through seeing
each other face to face, but technology makes it easier for kids to be mean to each other. Over the
past couple of years, the connection has grown stronger. A study was done in order to look at the
connection between bullying and suicide among adolescents. In this study, participants were
asked a numerous amount of questions that were used to interpret whether or not bullying was
prevalent among their age groups. Based on the results of the study completed, it was concluded
that experience with both bullying and cyberbullying was associated with an increase in suicidal
ideation among the sample group (Bauman, Toomey, Walker 347). This study helps to prove the
point that bullying and cyberbullying are both prevalent within schools and needs to be
addressed.
Another study that was looked at in reference to this subject discussed more than just
why bullying occurs, but also the reasons as to why bullying occurs in the first place. For

example, some students that were interviewed responded to the question by simply stating that it
had to do with a need for the feeling of superiority or because the bullies themselves are hurt
emotionally and feel the need to cause the same emotional distress to others (Chisholm & Trent
76). Through providing this information, it can be seen that the reasoning behind bullying is a
psychological pattern that needs to be addressed, as is suicide. Overall, the deeper connection
between bullying and suicide can be seen when looking at the psychosocial aspect as to why it
occurs.
The psychological background behind why students bully is an important factor to look at
when studying the act of bullying and why kids do it. A study was done by a group of doctors in
order to measure the prevalence of bullying behaviors among youth in the United States. In this
study, the psychosocial reasoning behind why and how it occurs was looked at. The psychosocial
reasoning that was tested included problem behavior, social/emotional adjustment, and parenting
(Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla). These three things are important because they help to provide a
background as to the reasoning behind why kids may bully. The study was set up by asking a
series of questions to students that would be used to better interpret their mindsets. The results of
the study showed that 29.9% of the students in the study were frequently involved in bullying. It
also showed that the frequency of bullying is higher among the sixth through eighth grade, which
would be the age of middle schoolers (Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla). This shows that the prevalence
of bullying is starting to become more evident within school systems, especially among younger
adolescents. This study helps to prove the point that bullying and suicide go hand in hand
because it shows how prevalent bullying really is among students.
Another implication of the connection between bullying and suicide can be seen when
looking at cases that have been found in which adolescents were pushed to the point of suicide

due to bullying. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide was the
third leading cause of death among adolescents in 2004. Even though suicide rates have
decreased 28.5% between 1990 and 2004 among young people, upward trends were identified in
the 10-19 year-old age group in 2003-2004 (Hinduja). This quote shows that in recent years,
suicide has gone up for the age group being discussed. Based on this evidence, it can be
concluded that suicide affects young people. A case in which this is true would be the case of
Rebecca Ann Sedwick. In this very particular case, the victim was bullied online by her peers for
several months, which in turn led to her jumping to her death. After she died, it was discovered
that she was not only bullied online, but she was bullied by many (Kuruvilla). This shows that
cyberbullying is also important and needs to be looked at because in a way, it can be more
dangerous. It is more dangerous in the way that more people are able to attack their peers at one
time. In addition, it is harder for people to get caught because it is not always known how the
attacking is occurring. Technology is so advanced that it is hard to stop cyberbullying from
occurring, since it happens so prevalently.
Another case that shows the prevalence of bullying among teens would be the case of
Amanda Todd, who committed suicide in 2012 after being bullied for months both in person and
online. When in the seventh grade, she met a man in an online chat who convinced her to flash
her breasts. A year later, the same man found her again on Facebook and started threatening to
release the picture of her if she did not do what he told her to do. As a result, the pictures of her
were released and everyone started to bully her. When she was bullied, it led to her developing
both depression and anxiety (PureSight). This shows how bullying can lead to depression. When
a person is bullied, they begin to feel as though it is their fault. Even though nothing that
continued to happen to Amanda Todd was her fault, she was not able to cope with the vicious

attacks that seemed to follow her everywhere she went. In turn, she decided to take her life. This
case shows that bullying has a serious effect on the way students think, and it can cause very
negative results.
Another study that was found by the researcher was done in order to examine the
relationship that occurs between bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Throughout this study, the
theory of suicide itself is studied in order to find reasons to why it exists. It also talks about the
cognitive theory of depression, which also impacts suicide in the way that it can be a factor. It is
a factor because bullying can cause depression, which can then lead to suicide among
adolescents who do not know how to handle the pressure that comes in schools. This study
focuses on random individuals, which makes it more credible because it makes sure that the
information provided is versatile (Bauman, Toomey, Walker). This study helps to identify the
connection between cyberbullying/bullying and suicide through opening up the readers mind to
the reasoning behind why suicide occurs from bullying. As previously mentioned, the cognitive
theory of depression impacts suicide by making it become an option that may not occur if
depression were not involved. The cognitive theory of depression is defined as claims in which
depressive thinking includes an increased negativity of cognitions about ones self, increased
hopelessness, and mood congruent recall (Haaga, Dyck, Ernst). These are important factors to
look at because these are signs that could be leading to suicide among adolescents in todays
society. Without being looked at, bullying will continue to be overlooked. If bullying is
continuously ignored, the prevalence level of both bullying as well as suicide will rise because it
is not being addressed.
When focusing on how to stop the problem, schools need to be looked at in order to stop
the culture of bullying. A journal article was published by Dr. Miller, in which he claims that the

issue of bullying is not looked at enough in schools, which is true. The journal provides evidence
about how often bullying actually does occur within schools. For example, it offers a look into
the different types of bullying that occur. The different types listed included both direct and
indirect bullying. Underneath these categories, the types of bullying listed were verbal, physical,
material, relational, hate-motivated, and cyberbullying (Miller). This shows how many different
types of bullying exist within school systems. This is important because if not all of the ways that
bullying occurs are looked at, there will be no way to properly eliminate them all. Throughout
this article, the author mentions how to disrupt the culture of bullying in schools. He claims that
his can be done by simply exposing bullying in a light that makes students not want to do it. This
would be done through putting anti-bullying classes into curriculum, which would force
students to engage in room discussions and group projects surrounding the topic of bullying.
This is a good way to ensure that bullying within schools would be stopped because more
students would be aware of their actions, especially within middle schools. This is a good source
because it helps to prove that bullying is a problem that needs to be identified. It also helps by
providing solutions that would hopefully cut down on the amount of bullying that happens within
schools, which would in turn lessen the amount of suicides that would occur among adolescents
from bullying.
Based on research found, a connection between bullying and suicide can be seen.
Although the correlation cannot be directly proven, it can be seen in many cases that bullying
and suicide go hand in hand when looking at the youth population. Overall, the connection is
being more closely monitored and with time the prevelance of bullying and suicide will most
likely be monitored more in depth in order to prevent it from continuing to happen. Through
introducing facts and statistics to the matter, looking at studies that focus on the topic, studying

evidence of past cases is found, and looking into the way school systems are structured in order
to try and control bullying, researchers of the topic should be able to develop their own
standpoint on how the two correlate. This being said, the connection between bullying and
suicide can be seen and should continue to be monitored in order to prevent increased activity of
the two.
Alaina,
I find the research youve composed to be really interesting to follow. But i am struggling
with your thesis here. I dont think anyone doubts a connection between bullying and suicide. So
Im not sure what your ultimate goal would be here. What is the exigency? I want to hear more
of your voice and your commentary. I get the sense that this is just your bibliography, simply
reconstituted in essay form. The essay should be an active participant in the conversation, not
simply reporting on it.

Works Cited
"Amanda Todd 1996 - 2012." Amanda Todd |PureSight. PureSight, 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
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Perspectives Toward Bullying with "thirteen Reasons Why". The English Journal 101.6
(2012): 7580. Web.
Empirical status of cognitive theory of depression. Haaga, David A.; Dyck, Murray J.; Ernst,
Donald. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 110(2), Sep 1991, 215
236.http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.110.2.215
Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. "Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide." Archives of
Suicide Research 14.3 (2010): 206-21. Google Scholar. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
Kuruvilla, C. "Rebecca Sedwick Case: Suicide Victim and Bully Grew up in disturbing Family
Homes, Cop Says." NY Daily News. 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Miller, sj. Speaking My Mind: Mythology of the Norm: Disrupting the Culture of Bullying in
Schools. The English Journal 101.6 (2012): 107109. Web.
Nansel TR, Overpeck M, Pilla RS, Ruan W, Simons-Morton B, Scheidt P. Bullying Behaviors
Among US Youth: Prevalence and Association With Psychosocial Adjustment. JAMA.
2001;285(16):2094-2100. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094.
Sheri Bauman, Russell B. Toomey, Jenny L. Walker, Associations among bullying,
cyberbullying, and suicide in high school students, Journal of Adolescence, Volume 36,
Issue 2, April 2013, Pages 341-350, ISSN 0140-1971,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.12.001.

"Stopbullying Blog." Bullying and Suicide: What's the Connection? U.S. Department of Health
& Human Services. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
The Center of Disease Control. "The Relationship between Bullying and Suicide."
CDC, Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullyingsuicide-translation-final-a.pdf>.