Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Thoughts: Emotional Distress and Neighborhood Conditions

Abstract

The study aims to examine (1) the association between bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts and (2) neighborhood conditions as a moderated mediated model of the association between bullying victimization, emotional distress, and suicidal thoughts. The sample consists of 414 African American youths (ages 12–17) in Chicago’s Southside neighborhoods. Variables included suicidal thoughts, bullying victimization, emotional distress, neighborhood conditions, age, sex, and government assistance. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and multivariate regression analyses. The study found that bullying victimization was not directly associated with suicidal thoughts. However, bullying victimization was positively associated with emotional distress, which was related to suicidal thoughts. Moreover, emotional distress as a mediator of the association between bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts was observed when neighborhood conditions were a moderator. The findings suggest that bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts are major concerns for African American adolescents, and prevention and intervention need to be cost-effective. © 2023 International Academy for Suicide Research.