From the school yard to the internet : does cyberbullying cause suicide?

This study investigates whether or not traditional bullying and cyberbullying behaviors are a contributing factor to suicide ideation. Suicide is the second leading cause of death on college campuses, and cyberbullying is an increasing phenomenon across the nation. However, there is limited research that investigates the cause of suicide amongst college students, and no research to date that explores whether or not college students bullying behaviors increase the risk of suicide. Through a questionnaire this study explored whether or not cyberbullying and traditional bullying occur at the college level, and what types of bullying males and females have engaged in, or have been a victim of while in college. The questionnaire also reported respondents’ beliefs and experiences of suicide ideation throughout their college career. The questionnaire reveled that indirect bullying was the most frequent bullying behavior to be experienced by college students’, while cyberbullying was reported as the least frequent behavior to have been victimized from while at college. Males and females typically engage in different bullying behaviors, but these findings were atypical to previous research, finding that males and females of this sample size experienced similar bullying behaviors. 61.3% of respondents reported that they believe that it is possible that people choose to take their lives as a result of being bullied. Reponses of this research and previous research of bullying and suicide gives strong indication that additional research be completed in these fields in order to fully understand bullying and its affect on suicidal ideation.

Union College Schaffer Library Digital Projects

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