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One major outcome that we have seen in recent years has been the increase in suicides related to an experience with bullying. As a point of reference, in 2004, suicide was the third-leading cause of deaths among those between the ages of 10 and 24. Even though suicide rates have decreased 28.5 percent between 1990 and 2004 among this age group, upward trends were identified in the 10- to 19-year-old age group in 2003-2004 (the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Though research involving traditional bullying and suicide is plentiful, empirical research involving cyberbullying and suicide is sparse.

We just got word that a research paper we submitted to the journal Archives of Suicide Research has just been accepted for publication. Its general focus is the phenomenon of cyberbullicide, which we define as “suicide indirectly or directly influenced by experiences with online aggression” (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009). We’ll be posting a new fact sheet summarizing the research soon, but it details the empirical link we have uncovered between suicidal thoughts/actions and online victimization.

In our quantitative study, we found that youth who experienced traditional bullying or cyberbullying, as either an offender or a victim, scored higher on a well-validated suicidal ideation scale than those who had not experienced those two forms of peer aggression. Moreover, bullying and cyberbullying victimization was a stronger predictor of suicidal thoughts and behaviors than bullying and cyberbullying offending.

We also found that traditional bullying victims were 1.7 times more likely and traditional bullying offenders were 2.1 times more likely to have attempted suicide than those who were not traditional victims or offenders. Similarly, cyberbullying victims were 1.9 times more likely and cyberbullying offenders were 1.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide than those who were not cyberbullying victims or offenders.

My next post will offer some policy and programming suggestions to address this problem. Even though cyberbullicide occurs quite rarely, it still merits purposed and informed prevention and response efforts.

As you know, we are endlessly working to have our finger on the pulse of how adults are educating youth about online technology.  The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Educational Technology Policy, Research, and Outreach (ETPRO) recently found that less than 25% of educators feel comfortable teaching students about Internet safety issues.  You and I might ask ourselves – what is the reason behind that?   Is it because teachers and administrators feel ignorant and unfamiliar with the latest forms of Web 2.0 communications?  Is it because educators don’t have the resources at hand to use in instructional capacities?  Is it because they perceive it as less important when compared to all of the other scholastic and curricular material they have to cover during the day?  Is it because they are underpaid and overworked and simply cannot do anymore?  I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think it’s probably a combination of all of these factors, to varying degrees.

Looking at the latest data coming out of our Research Center, we’ve found that among the population of approximately 1,000 randomly-selected teens we’ve recently studied from one district, 48.1% revealed that a teacher has talked to them about being safe on the computer over the last 30 days.  A comparatively small 14.9% of youth indicated that an educator has talked to them about online safety many times or practically every day over the last month.  Maybe most school personnel are just expecting parents to discuss these issues with their kids at home.  Well, it just so happens that we have new data on whether parents are stepping up and broaching the subject matter…

We found that 40.8% of the students we surveyed in June 2009 were counseled by their parents about Internet safety issues in the last 30 days.  That said, more than 1 out of every 5 students (22%) reported that online safety matters was discussed by their parents many times or practically every day, over the last month.  Moreover, we found that 43.4% of youth reported that their mom or dad *never* goes on the computer with them.  This is to be compared with 5.5% who state that a parent goes online with them “often” or “very often.”  With all of this said, it is quite apparent that a very small proportion of youth consciences are being piqued about the tremendous importance of participating in cyberspace with wisdom, discretion, and civility.

I want to reiterate that this is brand new data.  I was really hoping that the numbers would show a more encouraging finding in this area.  The only appropriate response, it seems, is to further dig our heels in and redouble our efforts to educate and embolden youth-serving adults.  The new school year is almost upon us, and there is much to be done.

June is Internet Safety Month. Parents should take this opportunity to have a brief talk with their kids about what they are doing online. Ask them about any unpleasant experiences they may have had. Tell them that you have heard about “cyberbullying” and wondered if they have had any such experiences. The earlier you have these discussions, the better. It’s not always easy, but it is crucial. You can start by asking your child to show you something new on the Internet/computer/cell phone. If you don’t have a social networking profile, and your child does, ask them to help you set one up. Then you can become “friends” with your child (both digitally, and in real life!) and see all that they have on their profile page. If you got a new cell phone, ask your child to show you how to use some of the features. These are great lead-ins for a more comprehensive discussion of online safety and responsibility.