What We Know about Bullying and Suicide Together
• We know that bullying behavior and suicide-related behavior are closely related. This means youth who
report any involvement with bullying behavior are more likely to report high levels of suicide-related
behavior than youth who do not report any involvement with bullying behavior.
• We know enough about the relationship between bullying and suicide-related behavior to make
evidence-based recommendations to improve prevention efforts.
What We DON’T Know about Bullying and Suicide
• We don’t know if bullying directly causes suicide-related behavior. We know that most youth who are
involved in bullying do NOT engage in suicide-related behavior. It is correct to say that involvement in
bullying, along with other risk factors, increases the chance that a young person will engage in suiciderelated
behaviors.