School bullying, cyberbullying, or both: correlates of teen suicidality in the 2011 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

While school bullying has been shown to be associated with depression and suicidality among teens, the relationship between these outcomes and cyberbullying has not been studied in nationally representative samples. Data came from the 2011 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a nationally representative sample of high-school students (N=15,425). We calculated weighted estimates representative of all students in grades 9-12 attending school in the US. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios. Overall, girls are more likely to be report being bullied (31.3% vs. 22.9%), in particularly to be cyberbullied (22.0% vs. 10.8%), while boys are only more likely to report exclusive school bullying (12.2% vs. 9.2%). Reports of 2-week sadness and all suicidality items were highest among teens reporting both forms of bullying, followed by those reporting cyberbullying only, followed by those reporting school bullying only. For example, among those reporting not being bullied 4.6% reported having made a suicide attempt, compared to 9.5% of those reporting school bullying only (adjusted odd ratio (AOR) 2.3, 95% C.I. 1.8-2.9), 14.7% of those reporting cyberbullying only (AOR 3.5 (2.6-4.7)), and 21.1% of those reporting victimization of both types of bullying (AOR 5.6 (4.4-7)). Bullying victimization, in school, cyber, or both, is associated with higher risk of sadness and suicidality among teens. Interventions to prevent school bullying as well as cyberbullying are needed. When caring for teens reporting being bullied, either at school or in cyberbullying, it's important to screen for depression and suicidality.