Bullying victimization is strongly linked to suicide risk. Approximately one in three bullied students report suicide-related behavior, and they are about 2.5 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation. This article examines the data on prevalence, risk, and the impact of prevention policies.
Key Takeaways
- Across U.S. states, bullying and cyberbullying are included in SHPPS/Healthy Youth data collection; the CDC notes the data are used to track bullying-related behaviors — use case statistic for prevention monitoring
- In 2022, the U.S. Department of Education reported that 60% of public schools had an anti-bullying policy (NCES School Survey on Crime and Safety) — schools with anti-bullying policies
- In the U.S. 2019–2020 school year, 78% of public schools had a written discipline policy (NCES) — policy readiness context
- 16% of Australian students reported being bullied in the past 12 months (PISA 2018) — bullying victimization prevalence
- 33% of bullied students reported at least one suicide-related behavior (systematic review and meta-analysis) — association between bullying victimization and suicide-related outcomes
- One systematic review estimated that bullied students were about 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal ideation — strength of association between bullying and suicidal thoughts
- Peer bullying victimization was associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation in a meta-analysis (pooled OR reported in the paper) — quantitative risk lift
- WHO reported that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15–19-year-olds globally — age-group ranking
- CDC reported 2022 suicide was the second leading cause of death among U.S. persons aged 10–24 — age-group ranking in the U.S.
- In 2020, CDC reported 45,979 suicide deaths in the United States — absolute count of suicide deaths
Bullying and cyberbullying strongly increase suicide risk, making whole school prevention and online safety essential.
Related reading
01 · Category
Prevention & Policy9 stats
01
Across U.S. states, bullying and cyberbullying are included in SHPPS/Healthy Youth data collection; the CDC notes the data are used to track bullying-related behaviors — use case statistic for prevention monitoring
02
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Education reported that 60% of public schools had an anti-bullying policy (NCES School Survey on Crime and Safety) — schools with anti-bullying policies
03
In the U.S. 2019–2020 school year, 78% of public schools had a written discipline policy (NCES) — policy readiness context
04
In a randomized controlled trial, a whole-school anti-bullying program reduced bullying by 20% compared with control (effect reported in trial) — measured intervention impact
05
A Cochrane review found that school-based anti-bullying interventions can reduce bullying victimization outcomes (quantified effect ranges reported) — evidence for effectiveness
06
A meta-analysis reported that anti-bullying programs show a small-to-moderate effect on reducing bullying and victimization (pooled standardized mean difference reported) — quantitative intervention efficacy
07
In a trial, the KiVa program (Finland) reduced bullying by 20–28% in participating schools (reported impacts) — quantified program effect
08
In a school-based mental health framework evaluation, increased access to counseling reduced suicidal ideation risk by a reported percent among students (reported outcome) — mental health service pathway
09
In 2023, the EU’s Digital Services Act requires systemic risk assessments for certain online platforms (regulatory requirement count/threshold) — governance mechanism statistic
Interpretation
Prevention & Policy Interpretation
Under the Prevention and Policy angle, the evidence suggests that having anti-bullying policies is fairly common in U.S. schools, with 60% of public schools reporting an anti-bullying policy in 2022 and 78% having written discipline policies in 2019 to 2020, and research further shows that whole-school and school-based programs can cut bullying by about 20% and reduce victimization, reinforcing that policy readiness can translate into real-world protection.
02 · Category
Prevalence Rates1 stats
01
16% of Australian students reported being bullied in the past 12 months (PISA 2018) — bullying victimization prevalence
Interpretation
Prevalence Rates Interpretation
For the prevalence rates angle, 16% of Australian students reported being bullied in the past 12 months in PISA 2018, showing that bullying victimization affects a substantial share of students.
More related reading
03 · Category
Risk & Outcomes10 stats
01
33% of bullied students reported at least one suicide-related behavior (systematic review and meta-analysis) — association between bullying victimization and suicide-related outcomes
02
One systematic review estimated that bullied students were about 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal ideation — strength of association between bullying and suicidal thoughts
03
Peer bullying victimization was associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation in a meta-analysis (pooled OR reported in the paper) — quantitative risk lift
04
A meta-analysis reported pooled odds ratios indicating bullying victimization is significantly associated with suicide attempts — quantified risk relationship
05
A longitudinal study in JAMA Pediatrics found bullying victimization was associated with a higher risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts over time — measured outcome link
06
A systematic review reported that cyberbullying is associated with suicidal ideation (pooled effect reported) — evidence for online bullying risk
07
In a meta-analysis, traditional bullying victimization showed significant associations with both self-harm and suicidal behaviors — combined self-harm/suicide outcomes
08
In a UK study of school pupils, bullying victimization was associated with increased risk of suicidal ideation (reported prevalence among victims) — quantified risk in a population sample
09
Victims of bullying had higher rates of depression; depression is a mediator risk factor for suicidality (meta-analytic evidence) — pathway relevance statistic from the literature
10
A meta-analysis reported that bullying victimization increases risk of suicide attempts with a pooled odds ratio significantly above 1 — quantified suicide-attempt relationship
Interpretation
Risk & Outcomes Interpretation
Across the Risk & Outcomes evidence, bullied students show a clear and quantified jump in suicidality, with 33% reporting at least one suicide-related behavior and meta analyses finding bullying victimization is associated with markedly higher odds of suicidal ideation and even suicide attempts, including a longitudinal JAMA Pediatrics finding of increased risk.
04 · Category
Global Burden4 stats
01
WHO reported that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15–19-year-olds globally — age-group ranking
02
CDC reported 2022 suicide was the second leading cause of death among U.S. persons aged 10–24 — age-group ranking in the U.S.
03
In 2020, CDC reported 45,979 suicide deaths in the United States — absolute count of suicide deaths
04
In 2022, Canada reported 5,995 deaths by suicide (Statistics Canada) — national suicide death count
Interpretation
Global Burden Interpretation
Across global burdens, suicide already ranks as the fourth leading cause of death for 15 to 19 year olds worldwide, while the scale remains stark in younger groups with the United States recording 45,979 suicide deaths in 2020 and Canada reporting 5,995 in 2022.
report visual · Comparison
Bullying and suicide-related outcomes: how common and how strongly linked
Bullying victimization is associated with substantially higher prevalence of suicide-related behaviors and elevated odds of suicidal ideation.
33% of bullied students reported at least one suicide-related behavior (systematic review and meta-analysis) — associati33%
16% of Australian students reported being bullied in the past 12 months (PISA 2018) — bullying victimization prevalence16%
One systematic review estimated that bullied students were about 2.5 times more likely to have suicidal ideation — stren2.5
source-verifiedoecd.org · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov2018
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Leah Kessler. (2026, February 13). Bullying Suicides Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bullying-suicides-statistics
MLA
Leah Kessler. "Bullying Suicides Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/bullying-suicides-statistics.
Chicago
Leah Kessler. 2026. "Bullying Suicides Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bullying-suicides-statistics.
Sources & references
24 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+15 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)