Racial/ethnic differences in the bullying victimization-suicidality link among LGBQ high school students in the United States

Abstract

Although the relationship between bullying victimization and suicidal behaviors of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (i.e., unsure of their sexual orientation) students has been well documented in research, few studies have focused on how bullying victimization might be related to suicidal behaviors among youth with intersectional identities. This study examines associations between bullying victimization and suicidal behaviors across racial/ethnic groups in a sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students. Data for this cross-sectional study were derived from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey combined data set (2003–2019), with a sample of 95,603 students who identified as LGBQ. Analyses included descriptive statistics and logistic regression. We found that homophobic bullying victimization was associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation and plans among the total sample and Black and Hispanic students. School-based bullying victimization was associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts among white and Hispanic students and higher suicidal ideation among multiracial–non-Hispanic students. Cyberbullying victimization was not associated with suicidal behavior among Asian students, but it was associated with all forms of suicidal behavior among youth of other racial/ethnic identities. Addressing bullying victimization and suicidality with culturally relevant, evidence-based violence prevention strategies is critical.