Mental health services use among adolescent bullying victims in Australia: Results from a nationwide survey

Md Irteja Islam; Fakir Md Yunus; Shumona Sharmin Salam; Enamul Kabir; Rasheda Khanam

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106312

Mental health services use among adolescent bullying victims in Australia: Results from a nationwide survey

Md Irteja Islam^*, Fakir Md Yunus, Shumona Sharmin Salam, Enamul Kabir, Rasheda Khanam

^*Corresponding author for this work

Bristol Medical School (PHS)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Research supports a robust association between bullying, mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in adolescence; however, the relation between bullying victimization and access to mental health services is incompletely understood. This study investigated whether traditional and cyberbullying victimization were associated with access to mental health services in adolescents, and to test the interaction between bullying victimization with a mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation on each service. Methods: Data analyses were conducted on 2218 Australian adolescents aged 12–17 years using the Young Minds Matter survey. Binary logistic regression models were employed to assess the odds of using mental health services (health, school, telephone, and online) separately among traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims. Interaction terms – ‘bullying victimization and mental disorder’, ‘bullying victimization and self-harm’, and ‘bullying victimization and suicidal ideation’, – were included in the regression models to examine whether and to what extent service use is affected respectively among traditionally bullied and cyberbullied sample. Results: Overall, 27.6% and 11.2% of adolescents experienced traditional bullying and cyberbullying, respectively. Also, the percentages of any mental disorder (20.4%) and health-risk behaviours (self-harm − 7.6% and suicidal ideation − 8.3%) were significant among the sample. Although many bullying victims did not use any services, both bivariate and multivariate analyses showed a strong and significant association between bullying victimization (traditional and cyber) and access to mental health services. Adolescents who reported both traditional bullying victimization and self-harm were found to be significantly associated with school service (p < 0.05). School service was also significantly (p < 0.05) used among those who experienced both traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Surprisingly, other interaction terms did not show any significant change in the service use among bullying victims. Conclusion: A limited number of bullying victims with or without mental health problems (mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation) use mental health services. Further research is warranted to identify the barriers to service use and to promote service utilization in adolescent bullying victims in a way that prevents the effects of bullying timely.

Original language	English
Article number	106312
Journal	Children and Youth Services Review
Volume	132
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106312
Publication status	Published - Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The paper is part of the first author's PhD program - sponsored by the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. The authors would like to thank Roy Morgan Research, the University of Western Australia, and the Australian Department for conducting the Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey, and the Australian Data Archive for providing access to the YMM survey dataset.

Funding Information:
The paper is part of the first author's PhD program - sponsored by the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. The authors would like to thank Roy Morgan Research, the University of Western Australia, and the Australian Department for conducting the Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey, and the Australian Data Archive for providing access to the YMM survey dataset. This research is conducted as a part of the doctoral thesis of the first author of this paper that did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sector. Ethics for the YMM study was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Government Department of Health (Project 17/2012) and the University of Western Australia (RA/4/1/9197). Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey datasets are available on request at the Australian Data Archive (ADA) repository. Further information about data accessibility is available on the ADA website (https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Cyberbullying
Mental disorder
Mental health services
Self-harm
Suicidal ideation
Traditional bullying

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106312

Handle.net

Persistent link

Cite this

@article{2cc1d558cecb488cbc75a4653f867e96,

title = "Mental health services use among adolescent bullying victims in Australia: Results from a nationwide survey",

abstract = "Background: Research supports a robust association between bullying, mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in adolescence; however, the relation between bullying victimization and access to mental health services is incompletely understood. This study investigated whether traditional and cyberbullying victimization were associated with access to mental health services in adolescents, and to test the interaction between bullying victimization with a mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation on each service. Methods: Data analyses were conducted on 2218 Australian adolescents aged 12–17 years using the Young Minds Matter survey. Binary logistic regression models were employed to assess the odds of using mental health services (health, school, telephone, and online) separately among traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims. Interaction terms – {\textquoteleft}bullying victimization and mental disorder{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}bullying victimization and self-harm{\textquoteright}, and {\textquoteleft}bullying victimization and suicidal ideation{\textquoteright}, – were included in the regression models to examine whether and to what extent service use is affected respectively among traditionally bullied and cyberbullied sample. Results: Overall, 27.6% and 11.2% of adolescents experienced traditional bullying and cyberbullying, respectively. Also, the percentages of any mental disorder (20.4%) and health-risk behaviours (self-harm − 7.6% and suicidal ideation − 8.3%) were significant among the sample. Although many bullying victims did not use any services, both bivariate and multivariate analyses showed a strong and significant association between bullying victimization (traditional and cyber) and access to mental health services. Adolescents who reported both traditional bullying victimization and self-harm were found to be significantly associated with school service (p < 0.05). School service was also significantly (p < 0.05) used among those who experienced both traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Surprisingly, other interaction terms did not show any significant change in the service use among bullying victims. Conclusion: A limited number of bullying victims with or without mental health problems (mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation) use mental health services. Further research is warranted to identify the barriers to service use and to promote service utilization in adolescent bullying victims in a way that prevents the effects of bullying timely.",

keywords = "Cyberbullying, Mental disorder, Mental health services, Self-harm, Suicidal ideation, Traditional bullying",

author = "Islam, {Md Irteja} and Yunus, {Fakir Md} and Salam, {Shumona Sharmin} and Enamul Kabir and Rasheda Khanam",

note = "Funding Information: The paper is part of the first author's PhD program - sponsored by the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. The authors would like to thank Roy Morgan Research, the University of Western Australia, and the Australian Department for conducting the Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey, and the Australian Data Archive for providing access to the YMM survey dataset. Funding Information: The paper is part of the first author's PhD program - sponsored by the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. The authors would like to thank Roy Morgan Research, the University of Western Australia, and the Australian Department for conducting the Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey, and the Australian Data Archive for providing access to the YMM survey dataset. This research is conducted as a part of the doctoral thesis of the first author of this paper that did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sector. Ethics for the YMM study was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Government Department of Health (Project 17/2012) and the University of Western Australia (RA/4/1/9197). Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey datasets are available on request at the Australian Data Archive (ADA) repository. Further information about data accessibility is available on the ADA website (https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2022",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106312",

language = "English",

volume = "132",

journal = "Children and Youth Services Review",

issn = "0190-7409",

publisher = "Pergamon Press",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mental health services use among adolescent bullying victims in Australia

T2 - Results from a nationwide survey

AU - Islam, Md Irteja

AU - Yunus, Fakir Md

AU - Salam, Shumona Sharmin

AU - Kabir, Enamul

AU - Khanam, Rasheda

N1 - Funding Information: The paper is part of the first author's PhD program - sponsored by the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. The authors would like to thank Roy Morgan Research, the University of Western Australia, and the Australian Department for conducting the Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey, and the Australian Data Archive for providing access to the YMM survey dataset. Funding Information: The paper is part of the first author's PhD program - sponsored by the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. The authors would like to thank Roy Morgan Research, the University of Western Australia, and the Australian Department for conducting the Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey, and the Australian Data Archive for providing access to the YMM survey dataset. This research is conducted as a part of the doctoral thesis of the first author of this paper that did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sector. Ethics for the YMM study was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Government Department of Health (Project 17/2012) and the University of Western Australia (RA/4/1/9197). Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey datasets are available on request at the Australian Data Archive (ADA) repository. Further information about data accessibility is available on the ADA website (https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2022/1

Y1 - 2022/1

N2 - Background: Research supports a robust association between bullying, mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in adolescence; however, the relation between bullying victimization and access to mental health services is incompletely understood. This study investigated whether traditional and cyberbullying victimization were associated with access to mental health services in adolescents, and to test the interaction between bullying victimization with a mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation on each service. Methods: Data analyses were conducted on 2218 Australian adolescents aged 12–17 years using the Young Minds Matter survey. Binary logistic regression models were employed to assess the odds of using mental health services (health, school, telephone, and online) separately among traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims. Interaction terms – ‘bullying victimization and mental disorder’, ‘bullying victimization and self-harm’, and ‘bullying victimization and suicidal ideation’, – were included in the regression models to examine whether and to what extent service use is affected respectively among traditionally bullied and cyberbullied sample. Results: Overall, 27.6% and 11.2% of adolescents experienced traditional bullying and cyberbullying, respectively. Also, the percentages of any mental disorder (20.4%) and health-risk behaviours (self-harm − 7.6% and suicidal ideation − 8.3%) were significant among the sample. Although many bullying victims did not use any services, both bivariate and multivariate analyses showed a strong and significant association between bullying victimization (traditional and cyber) and access to mental health services. Adolescents who reported both traditional bullying victimization and self-harm were found to be significantly associated with school service (p < 0.05). School service was also significantly (p < 0.05) used among those who experienced both traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Surprisingly, other interaction terms did not show any significant change in the service use among bullying victims. Conclusion: A limited number of bullying victims with or without mental health problems (mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation) use mental health services. Further research is warranted to identify the barriers to service use and to promote service utilization in adolescent bullying victims in a way that prevents the effects of bullying timely.

AB - Background: Research supports a robust association between bullying, mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in adolescence; however, the relation between bullying victimization and access to mental health services is incompletely understood. This study investigated whether traditional and cyberbullying victimization were associated with access to mental health services in adolescents, and to test the interaction between bullying victimization with a mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation on each service. Methods: Data analyses were conducted on 2218 Australian adolescents aged 12–17 years using the Young Minds Matter survey. Binary logistic regression models were employed to assess the odds of using mental health services (health, school, telephone, and online) separately among traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims. Interaction terms – ‘bullying victimization and mental disorder’, ‘bullying victimization and self-harm’, and ‘bullying victimization and suicidal ideation’, – were included in the regression models to examine whether and to what extent service use is affected respectively among traditionally bullied and cyberbullied sample. Results: Overall, 27.6% and 11.2% of adolescents experienced traditional bullying and cyberbullying, respectively. Also, the percentages of any mental disorder (20.4%) and health-risk behaviours (self-harm − 7.6% and suicidal ideation − 8.3%) were significant among the sample. Although many bullying victims did not use any services, both bivariate and multivariate analyses showed a strong and significant association between bullying victimization (traditional and cyber) and access to mental health services. Adolescents who reported both traditional bullying victimization and self-harm were found to be significantly associated with school service (p < 0.05). School service was also significantly (p < 0.05) used among those who experienced both traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Surprisingly, other interaction terms did not show any significant change in the service use among bullying victims. Conclusion: A limited number of bullying victims with or without mental health problems (mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation) use mental health services. Further research is warranted to identify the barriers to service use and to promote service utilization in adolescent bullying victims in a way that prevents the effects of bullying timely.

KW - Cyberbullying

KW - Mental disorder

KW - Mental health services

KW - Self-harm

KW - Suicidal ideation

KW - Traditional bullying

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120311091&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106312

DO - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106312

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

AN - SCOPUS:85120311091

SN - 0190-7409

VL - 132

JO - Children and Youth Services Review

JF - Children and Youth Services Review

M1 - 106312

ER -

Mental health services use among adolescent bullying victims in Australia: Results from a nationwide survey

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Handle.net

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this