National Trends and Disparities in Bullying and Suicidal Behavior Across Demographic Subgroups of US Adolescents.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Suicidal behavior and bullying victimization are important indicators of adolescent psychological distress, and are patterned by sex, race/ethnicity and sexual identity. This study aimed to estimate trends and disparities in these factors along with key demographics. METHOD: Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (2015-2019, N = 44,066) were collected biennially through national cross-sectional surveys of US school-attending adolescents. Survey-weighted logistic regressions examined disparities in past-year bullying and suicidal behavior, overall and by demographics. RESULTS: Bullying in 2019 was highest for female (vs male) students (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.62, 2.06), American Indian/Alaskan Native (vs White) students (OR = 1.48, 95% 0.91, 2.41, p > .05), and gay/lesbian (vs heterosexual) students (OR = 2.81, 95% CI = 2.07, 3.81). Suicidal behavior disparities affected similar groups. There was minimal evidence for shifts in disparities since 2015, with the exception of bullying for gay/lesbian adolescents. The prevalence of bullying victimization among gay and lesbian adolescents went from 31.6% to 44.5% between 2015 and 2019, surpassing the bisexual and "Not Sure" groups to be the sexual identity group with the highest rate of bullying victimization. CONCLUSION: Interventions that operate on multiple structural levels and empower marginalized youth are needed.