Bullying as a risk factor for depression and suicide

Abstract

Introduction: Bullying is a systematized abuse of power that can be expressed through different types of violence such as physical, verbal, social exclusion, among others. Given the potential association between bullying and suicide, and its recent media repercussion in our country, this review explores the evidence that associates bullying and the development of depression and/or suicide.

Objectives: To review the available literature and analyze the relationship between bullying and the development of depression and/or suicide.

Methods: a bibliographic search was conducted in the PubMed, SciELO and LILACS databases with MeSH terms “bullying”, “depression”, “suicide”, “acoso escolar”, “depresión” and “suicidio”, selecting 18 of 73 results for review.

Results: There is evidence that establishes a relationship between exposure to bullying and the development of depression and suicide in adolescents, and emphasizes the importance of depression as a mediator between bullying and suicidal behavior. Cyberbullying is a new way of expression of this phenomenon, with evidence in the development of depression and suicide, mostly in female adolescents. The lack of original studies in Latin America is worrying.

Conclusions: Despite the heterogeneity of the studies, the evidence reinforces the need to improve the mechanisms of research and prevention of bullying among adolescents, in order to reduce the incidence of depression and suicide in this population.