Adolescent victimization and associated suicidal and violent behaviors

This study examined the relationship between victimization and both suicida l and violent behaviors among 1,569 public high school students in New York State (excluding New York City). They had participated in the 1997 Youth R isk: Behavior Survey and, based on their responses, were divided into four groups: no suicidal or violent behavior, suicidal behavior only, violent be havior only, and both suicidal and violent behaviors. Males reported signif icantly more victimization, less suicidal behavior, and more violent behavi or compared with females. Logistic regression analyses indicated that all c ategories of suicidal/violent behaviors were more frequent among those who had been victimized compared with the nonvictimized, for both males and fem ales. In addition, victimized males were over two times more Likely than vi ctimized females to report violent behavior only. Gender differences were n ot significant for victimized students in two groups, suicidal behavior onl y and both suicidal and violent behaviors, although the results were in the hypothesized direction for suicidal behavior (e.g., females were more pron e to suicidal behavior only). It was concluded that identifying and treatin g the victims of violence should be an integral component of suicide preven tion programs and interventions aimed at reducing interpersonal violence in schools.