The Relationship between Bullying, Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation among Secondary School Students

Abstract

Suicidal ideation is the foundation of suicide behaviour continuum and if not addressed, particularly among students, may escalate the rate of suicide among this population in Nigeria. Thus, the study examined the association between bullying, depression, and suicidal ideation among secondary school students. The participants were five hundred and three (503) students, comprising of two hundred and ten (210) males and two hundred and ninety-three females, whose ages ranged from 15 to 18 years, with a mean age of 16.30 and standard deviation of .93. they were selected through simple random sampling technique. The instruments employed for data collection were suicidal ideation (SIS), Adolescent Peer Relation Instrument (APRI) and Symptom Distress Checklist 90 (SLC-90). The study design was correlation which employed Pearson Product Moment Statistic for data analysis and test of hypotheses. The result showed that bullying positively and significantly associated with suicidal ideation at r=.14, p<.01. Furthermore, depression also correlated positively with suicidal ideation at r= .07, p<.05. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers recommend among others that parents, school counselors and teachers should play a significant role in early discovery and intervention of bullying to mitigate the distress that may result in suicidal ideation.