Associations among Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide - Article Example

As such, the authors “hypothesize that victimization leads to or exacerbates depression by contributing to the cognitive triad” (Bauman, Toomey, & Walker, 2013, p. 342). The authors intended to test their hypothesis through the utilization of the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey and a two-stage cluster sampling. The data is then analyzed in terms of variables acting as mediators between the preponderance of suicidal attempts through structural equation modeling. Finally, the authors also examined whether “the mediated pathways differed by gender, (through) … the Wald test of parameter constraints” (Bauman, Toomey, & Walker, 2013, p. 344).

The participants were composed of 1,491 high school students who were reportedly included in the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The demographic profiles of the participants were: 49% female from Grades 9 to 12 and of different racial or ethnic orientations; where the majority (46%) were Whites and seconded by Hispanics or Latinos at 24.1% (Bauman, Toomey, & Walker, 2013).

The independent variables were: traditional victimization, cyber victimization, traditional bullying, and cyberbullying. The dependent variables were: depression and suicide attempts. These were measured using the bootstrapping method, as well as the Wald test of parameter constraints.

The results revealed that depression mediated a link between victimization and suicide. The correlation differs across genders. As emphasized, “depression mediated the link between cyber victimization and suicide attempts only for females. Similarly, depression mediated the link between traditional bullying and suicide attempts for females only. Depression did not mediate the link between cyberbullying and suicide attempts for either gender” (Bauman, Toomey, & Walker, 2013, p. 341). Thus, the results supported the researchers’ hypothesis.

The information and lessons imparted from the article are deemed to be valuable and beneficial to psychosocial practitioners, educators, and readers who are interested in the subject. The authors presented and structured the discourse in an effective manner that assisted in increased comprehensibility of the main points. How tables and visual illustrations were used also assist in highlighting the gist of the topics being discussed. For instance, the tabular presentation of the demographic characteristics of the sample immensely enhanced the understanding of the composition of the participants. Likewise, the procedure and data analysis portions were explained in the most concisely understandable manner that readers from varied fields of endeavors could relate to. It was also commendable that the authors included implications for prevention and intervention, as well as limitations, where future studies could focus on undertaking a longitudinal study that incorporates other forms of data collection methods. Overall, the article was effective in achieving the authors’ defined goals and assisted readers in enhancing their understanding of the impact of students’ tendencies for depression to preponderances for victimization and suicidal attempts. Thus, appropriate measures should focus on addressing these factors to prevent harm, injury, or death to occur due to bullying.