The association between disability status, bullying and suicide ideation among adolescents in Delaware
Date
2013
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This research aims to investigate the relationship between disability status, bullying and suicide ideation among adolescents in Delaware. Through use of secondary data, the project will explore whether adolescents with disabilities in Delaware who are bullied experience greater rates of thoughts, plans or attempts at suicide than adolescents without disabilities. This inquiry will be addressed through answering the questions: "Do adolescents with disabilities in Delaware report being bullied more frequently than those without a disability?" and "Is bullying more likely to be associated with suicide thoughts/attempts by adolescents with disabilities in Delaware than those without a disability?" The research questions will be answered through analysis of various Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) questions and several statistical equations through the use of SPSS. Through the analysis, it was found that adolescents who report having a disability are more likely to be bullied and have some form of suicide ideation than those who are not bullied and those student who reported not having a disability. This is one of the first research studies to date to look at the relationship between disability status, bullying and suicide ideation among adolescents in Delaware. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that discusses the increased suicide rates in Delaware is highlighted and suggestions for prevention are discussed.