Potential Suicide Ideation and Its Association With Observing Bullying at School

PurposeTo explore those contextual factors that predict potential suicide ideation among students who observe bullying at school.Methods1,592 students of whom 1,009 who reported having observed bullying at school were surveyed from 14 secondary schools in the North of England. Role-related (not-involved, victim, perpetrator, ‘bully-victim’ and observer) and gender-wise comparisons of key variables were undertaken prior to hierarchical multiple regressions to determine those associated with potential suicide ideation.ResultsAnalyses indicated that students who observed bullying behavior were significantly more likely than those not involved in bullying to report symptoms of interpersonal sensitivity, to indicate greater helplessness and potential suicide ideation. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that, among boys, helplessness (β = .48, p < .001) followed by frequency of bullying perpetration (β = .11, p < .001), and a less supportive home climate (β = −.10, p < .004) were associated with potential suicide ideation. Helplessness was found to be the only variable associated with potential suicide ideation among girls (β = .49, p < .001).ConclusionsPerceived helplessness is significantly associated with potential suicide ideation among students who observe bullying at school.