The longitudinal impact of perceived school bullying on suicidal ideation in adolescents

Few empirical studies have explored the role of perceived school bullying (PSB) on suicidal ideation (SI) in adolescents, through the mediating mechanisms of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and depressive symptoms (DS). This study utilized a large sample of adolescents with three waves of data collection at 6-month intervals to examine the longitudinal effect of PSB on SI after 6 months and 1 year, as well as the mediation of PLEs and DS in the PSB-SI relationship. A total of 4,595 adolescents in the 7th grade (mean age = 13.03, 52% male) participated in the three-wave longitudinal study on adolescent mental health conducted between May 2021 and May 2022 in a city in South China. The measures included T1 PSB assessed using the Delaware School Climate Scale-Student (DSCS-S), T2 PLEs measured using the Positive Subscale of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-P8), T2 DS assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), and T3 SI measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The prevalence rate of adolescents PLEs (T1 = 43.7%, T2 = 55.5%), DS (T1 = 11.1%, T2 = 12.0%), and SI (T1 = 17.8%, T2 = 16.8%, T3 = 17.7%) were reported. The prevalence rates of SI from T1 to T3 significantly increased with increases in the baseline levels of PSB, PLEs, and DS. Mediation analyses revealed that PLEs and DS at 6 months significantly mediated the association between PSB at baseline and SI 1 year later.